Pasta like Spaghetti can be used instead of Chinese Noodles or Soba in many recipes.
There’s a restaurant in Manhattan Beach that serves a great spicy sesame noodle recipe topped with peanuts that I was seriously craving the other night. When I worked at Cheesecake Factory, we had a similar dish called the Peking Salad although I don’t believe it is on the menu any longer. As I pondered how to recreate either of the sweet, salty, nutty, tangy noodle dishes, I wondered if there were an authentic, original version for Spicy Cold Sesame Noodles.
After some research, I learned that there is actually a guy named Tang Win Fat, nick-named Shorty Tang who legend has it, is responsible for the first cold, sesame noodle
Shorty Tang was a well known New York restauranteur who invented the Chinese Cold Spicy Noodle Recipe.
recipe. His story is featured on his grandson’s WordPress Blog RiceWineVinegar and he was also featured in a story about his historical New York restaurant and in the recipes section in the New York Times. Shorty Tang was born in 1926 in Sichuan’s Nianchang, worked in restaurants starting at the age of 12, and left China for Taiwan in 1946 where he worked as a street vendor before opening his first restaurant there. Then, he moved to Queens, NY in 1967 and opened a restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown which was famous for among other dishes, his Cold Sesame Noodles. This recipe is supposed to replicate Shorty’s but I’ve also listed Madame Wong’s recipe below it which I just happened to have found (strange coincidence) when making a version of her Chinese Lemon Chicken recipe. We served these noodles with a simple Pork Loin Roast and it was a great pairing.
The easy way to add Fresh Ginger to any recipe. Freeze it, then grate it in.
- 8 ounces Chinese Egg Noodles or Soba or Spaghetti, cooked and cooled.
- 4 Tablespoons Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Red Chili Paste (or Chili and Garlic Paste or even Sriracha Sauce)
- 1 Tablespoon Grated Fresh Ginger
- 1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Garlic
- 2 Tablespoons Sesame Paste (I forgot this ingredient and it still tasted amazing!)
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Peanuts
- 4 Chopped Green Onions
- 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced (my addition)
- 2 Cups Spinach Leaves (my addition)
- Feel free to add any other vegetables you like (like broccoli, bean sprouts, celery, cucumber etc…)
- Feel free to add egg, tofu, leftover chicken, ham or turkey.
Make noodles per package instructions. Drain and rinse in cold water.
I add Spinach, Peppers and Grated Carrots to the mix.
When cool, mix all ingredients with the sauce. Done.
As an alternative, here is Madame Wong’s Easy Cold Spicy Noodles Sauce Recipe Ingredients (a quicker, easier version but both recipes are delicious):
- 1 Tablespoon Red Chili Sauce (or Chili and Garlic or Sriracha Sauce)
- 1/4 Cup Sesame Oil
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 1/4 Cup Rice or Regular Vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Either of these recipes work well for a kids’ lunch, or to bring to a picnic or a party although I would use Cashew or Almond Butter and Cashews instead of Peanuts as you never know who might be allergic if you’re sharing this dish with a crowd. Summer is over, but it is still warm in California. Jackson Brown just played at the Santa Monica Pier last weekend. So, I will eat these noodles until it starts to rain and think of Shorty and his lovely family and how even a single recipe can touch so many for years down the road.
