This cold noodle salad is the result of a moment of embarrasement.
I have a tight phone relationship with the lady at the other end of the line at my favorite chinese restaurant, a fact that happens simply because they have delivery, it’s chinese food after all, and they’re fast and bring me diet coke too, which is not a minor detail sometimes. If there’s coffee, yogurt, diet coke, pasta or rice to reheat, I can live a few days without leaving the house. That
aside, it has come to a point that when I say ‘…curried chicken chow fan’, she simply asks ‘do you need a diet coke too?’ and then proceeds to tell me the amount, a goodbye and hangs up. Yep, we don’t need to exchange phone numbers or
addresses because, apparently, I’m the only one asking for the same dish every single time for the last two years. Last week I went crazy and ordered chicken chow fan, and heard no curry? from the other end of the line, and then she had to laugh because frankly I need a life.
Being social is a good thing they tell me, keeps you young and active.
aside, it has come to a point that when I say ‘…curried chicken chow fan’, she simply asks ‘do you need a diet coke too?’ and then proceeds to tell me the amount, a goodbye and hangs up. Yep, we don’t need to exchange phone numbers or
addresses because, apparently, I’m the only one asking for the same dish every single time for the last two years. Last week I went crazy and ordered chicken chow fan, and heard no curry? from the other end of the line, and then she had to laugh because frankly I need a life.
Being social is a good thing they tell me, keeps you young and active.
Anyway, these sesame noodle salad was my second attempt to start cooking asian food at home, in an attempt to stop the chow fan invasion. The first one was the szechuan pork and carrots, and let me tell you, both recipes leave the chicken and rice languishing in the fridge, no matter how nice the chinese lady is on the phone.
Discovering soba noodles happened after I started this blog, those rather ugly colored strings appeared everywhere, sounding interesting and something I should, no matter what, incorporate in my life if I wanted to be a food blogger. Much like kale or coconut oil. I’m a fan now, big time, buy them in bulk almost, after the first time I ran out of them, and realized I had to trek all the way to the chinese market to buy them. As I told you before, asian food is not our thing in this country. And besides, they come in the neatest, prettiest bundles ever, all tied with a cute checkered paper – how can you not want to buy them?
There are two parts to this recipe. One is, obviously, the sesame asian noodle salad, just as you see it in the pictures, with fried shallots, green beans and onions on top of soba noodles smothered in homemade sesame mayonnaise, and the other is the mayo itself. Oh boy! Probably the best I’v ever made. Being the sesame lover that I am, it was one of those recipes that first caught my eye and I went right into the kitchen and made it. Definitely worth a gold star.
And the cold noodle salad? Worth as many gold stars as you want.
SESAME ASIAN NOODLE SALAD
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the sesame mayonnaise:
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 ½ Tbs rice vinegar
- 2 ½ Tbs soy sauce
- 3 Tbs good mustard I used ancient
- ¼ cup toasted sesame oil
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 ½ cups canola oil
- 1 teaspoon sriracha or similar
For the noodle salad:
- 1/2 cup sesame mayonnaise recipe above
- 4 portions soba noodles
- ¼ cup canola or peanut oil
- 2 cups green beans cut into pieces (you can use frozen, but defrosted)
- 1 large shallot thinly sliced
- ½ cup thinly sliced green onion
- Sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
For the sesame mayonnaise:
-
Put egg, yolks, vinegar, soy sauce and mustard in the bowl of a food processor and process 1 minute.
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With the machine on the lowest speed, start adding the sesame oil in a very thin stream, followed by the olive oil in the same way.
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Finally add the canola oil, gradually but you don’t need to be so careful since the mayonnaise will have emulsified by now.
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Add sriracha and taste. Adjust seasonings accordingly.
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Keep refrigerated.
-
Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
For the noodle salad:
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Cook noodles in abundant salted water.
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Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet and add shallots and green beans. Cook for a few minutes, until most shallots are crispy. Transfer to a paper to drain while preparing the noodles.
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Rinse noodles under cold water and transfer to a bowl, or to the same pot where you cooked them. Add the mayonnaise and mix. Add more if you want.
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Transfer to a serving platter, and top with green beans, shallots, green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook, by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins
That looks so extremely delicious !
woow I can't wait to try your noodle salad. I should be way better in cooking non Indian Asian dishes, but I am not. They scare me. lol
Wow…this looks SO GOOD! Love love that sesame mayo you made.
Oh wow, that sesame mayo sounds amazing! And too funny about the lady at the Chinese restaurant!
Oh my, this looks out of this world in deliciousness.
I will eat noodles any way you serve them but the sesame mayo on these sounds incredible!
Simply gorgeous, esp. with those frizzled shallots on top. Great salad for the group today!
I had to giggle at your story….I eat almost the same thing for breakfast and lunch each day and can totally relate. I almost made a noodle salad and now I'm craving yours!!! Beautiful, Paula.
This looks so delicious! I am definitely going to try this!
OMGoodness so mouth watering, Paula. No one would have guessed it's only your second attempt at cooking Asian food at home. You are a funny story teller which keeps me coming over among everything else I love about you. 🙂
I love this salad, asian noodles are just my favourite 😀
And sesames are perfect!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Soba noodles are my favorite! Yum!
Great story about being a regular customer, Paula. Bet the food is super good…Sounds like a mom-and-pop deal.
Anyway, soba noodle are so good hot or cold. Love the concept of using them in a salad.
Sesame mayonnaise is a first but looks to be fantastic! Especially with the drop of sriracha =)
I had to laugh at your story 🙂 I love soba noodles and like you had to make sure I tried them if I wanted to blog about food! The first time I made them and smelled the lovely floral aroma , I was hooked.
This salad looks wonderful! Easy enough because I am terrible at Asian food myself.
Nazneen
Paula, lovely Soba Noodle dish – these Asian salads are just wonderful and universally liked around here as well – what a funny story, not very popular calling in for food around here – not many choices and the food..well…s.th. still in its infancy.
I saw your lovely Vanilla Peaches over at David´s, how nice that he prepared one of your outstanding recipes – it looks just wonderful!
Have a great Sunday!
I know, wasn't that so sweet of David? He's a great friend!
This sounds amazing Paula! I love sesame oil and sriracha in my cold noodles. This looks delicious!
Tengo que probar esa receta tuya de mayonesa… suena deliciosa!! (1/4 cup or Tbs sesame oil?)
Si si Montse, es TAZA no cucharada! Parece mucho para lo que gralmente se usa de aceite de sésamo, pero queda perfecto.
Ok! Gracias!
Wow! I am trying this! I love Asian food and have a great little Asian supermarket near my house but it always seem so difficult! I love the look of this salad and will most definitely make it; Family will love it! (and I love the story!)
The part of this recipe that impressed me the most is mayonnaise! It sounds just fantastic!
Sometimes, Paula, I think we must be twins separated only by my age and your good looks! 🙂 Between the peaches in vanilla bean syrup, the limoncello and now this, I can't believe how many times we do things at the same time. I just recently made a sesame mayonnaise using almost the same ingredients and proportions and served it with salmon cakes. I love the idea of it with soba noodles and green beans! Yum! ~ David
Fun story. And terrific recipe! I love sesame noodles, and this is a particularly nice version. Truly good stuff – thanks.
I love a nice plate or bowl of soba noodles, especially with sesame. This dish looks really tasty and pretty.
I rarely eat Asian food because of the crazy high salt content, but I would love to make some of my own, as it's so tasty. This looks like a great dish to start with.
Paula,
This post totally made me smile. . loved the story. . and love the relationship you have with your local Chinese take out place! 🙂 Awesome.
Can I tell you how happy I am to see this soba recipe on your blog?! 🙂 and this sesame mayonnaise??? OH MY GAWD. I must try this ASAP. omg, I seriously cannot wait to try this! yummmm!
And yes. . be social. . 🙂 #alwaysagoodthing 😛
I've never been big on Asian food but that sesame mayonnaise sounds divine. Love your photos. The noodles actually look calming, cool and delicious (that sounds weird but it's true!). Thanks for this recipe lovely (loved the story, haha! I think I need to try curried chicken chow fan if it's good enough to eat weekly!) xxx
I love this recipe, your sesame mayonnaise sounds delicious with the noodles.