Pioneer Woman's Simple Sesame Noodles

SashasMommy's Note:

I served this with grilled Garlic Peppercorn steak (McCormick Grillmates) and raw cucumber. The coolness of the cucumber was so refreshing with these spicy dishes! We used 1 tsp of the hot chili oil. Note that there is no error in the recipe, as one reviewer states. If you look at the blog post about Simple Sesame Noodles on Pioneer Woman's website, it does indeed say pure sesame oil, with a photo of the pure sesame oil bottle.

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 garlic cloves, Minced
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons pure sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon hot chili oil (or to taste)
• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 4 whole green onions, Sliced Thin
• 12 ounces Asian noodles or 12 ounces other thin noodles

Directions:

1. Whisk together first 8 ingredients.
2. Cook the noodles as directed on package and drain.
3. Mix together sauce and warm noodles, making sure that all the noodles get well covered (or saute noodles with sauce in a skillet on medium heat).
4. Serve topped with green onions.

Reviews

[Chef Freckles]

There is an error in the recipe compared to Pioneer Woman's website. She indicates a dark, or Chinese or Asian sesame seed oil which is not the same as 'pure sesame oil". It's a much more highly flavored oil, and if you make the recipe without it you get such a difference.
I made this recipe 1/2 a dozen times for my large family, doubling it. We love the recipe as is, with the exception of eliminating the chili peppers, because my children are young. It gets 5* here! To make it a main dish, we add steamed broccoli and leftover sliced grilled chicken breast.

[Diane in Burbank, CA]

This is good, and I will make it again, but didn't have that wow factor for me. I think I would change up the oil distribution - 4 Tbs Sesame/3 Tbs canola. Maybe add a bit more hot chili oil, too, and/or red pepper flakes. I made as directed but tossed in some sesame seeds as well. I took a cue from SashasMommy and paired it with Marinated Garlic and Peppercorn Flank Steak, Marinated Garlic & Peppercorn Flank Steak along with a simple green salad w/ranch dressing. Worked very nicely together. UPDATE 1/14/11 from 3 Stars to 4. Re-distributed Sesame/Canola Oil as stated above and added Cilantro. I did look for Chinese or Sesame Seed oil as suggested below but my store didn't have it so had to use the Pure Sesame again. However, the redistribution made this much more flavorful. I paired with Bourbon Chicken, topping both off with sesame seeds. Definitely will keep this in rotation & so easy, too!

[Eden C]

Great recipe - even with me making a lot of substitutions! * I used quinoa pasta noodles instead of regular asian style noodles. (8oz in the package instead of 12) * I didn't have rice vinegar so used balsamic instead. * I also didn't have chile oil so used 1/2 teaspoon of chile flakes. * I chose to use agave nectar instead of sugar. It turned out very well. I then tossed the noodles with fresh raw spinach and tomatoes. Made a great dish. Both my husband and I loved it!