15-minute meals
Noodle Recipes: 15-Minute Sesame Noodles With Crunchy Vegetables
Make fast sesame noodles with any long noodle, a five-ingredient sauce, and crisp vegetables for a flexible lunch or weeknight dinner.
- TIME
- 15 min
- SERVES
- 4
Fast noodle recipes are ideal for the odd vegetables that are still crisp but no longer inspiring. Slice them thinly, shake together a pantry sauce, and dinner is ready in the time it takes the noodles to boil.
One sauce, several pantry options
Tahini makes the sauce nut-free; peanut butter makes it rich; sunflower seed butter works for many nut-free kitchens. Rice vinegar, lime, or even a mild cider vinegar supplies the sharp edge. Taste before adding extra salt because soy sauce varies widely.
Use texture to make leftovers feel fresh
Cold noodles need crunch. Cucumber, carrot, cabbage, radish, peppers, snap peas, and broccoli stems all work when cut into thin matchsticks. Slightly tired herbs are perfect here once any slimy leaves have been discarded.
The noodles keep well for lunch, but loosen the sauce with a teaspoon of water before eating.
From fridge to table
How to make it
- 01
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the package directions.
- 02
Whisk the tahini, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sweetener, and garlic in a large bowl.
- 03
Before draining, whisk 2 tablespoons hot noodle water into the sauce; add more until it is smooth and pourable.
- 04
Drain the noodles. Rinse briefly under cool water for a cold dish, or leave them hot for a warm bowl.
- 05
Toss the noodles and sliced vegetables through the sauce until evenly coated.
- 06
Taste for soy, acidity, or sweetness, then finish with any herbs, seeds, or nuts you have.
