I have friends who really like a Sesame Spicy Noodle from a Szechuan restaurant in San Francisco, which is especially flavorful a LOT of sesame paste, at the same time SUPER spicy with excessive chili flakes! To replicate it at home, I tried to make Spicy Sesame Noodles with Tahini and hand-pulled noodles, of course any noodle will do!
How is tahini different from Chinese sesame paste? Tahini is a common paste from Middle East and the main component of hummus. One fundamental different is that Tahini is made from raw, hulled sesame seeds (sometimes lightly toasted) whereas Chinese sesame paste is made from toasted whole sesame seeds. Foodsguy blog offers more detailed differences comparison among black sesame paste (Japan), white sesame paste(China) and tahini (middle east) and sesame’s BENEFITS here. And RedHouse blog offers 3 substitute of Chinese sesame paste here.
QUICK TAKEAWAYS
- tougher dough and more well-covered dough in oil will lead to better stretchiness
- if noodles stick together after cook, just rinse again in cold water to untangle them
- if sauce is too think or dense, add water to dilute the sauce
RECIPE
Estimate Time: 3-3.5 hours, mostly dough resting
Ingredients for 2 portions (referring to the same recipe from Biang Biang noodle):
- 185 – 190g All Purpose Flour
- 1g salt
- 90g water (add 2/3 first, then add if needed)
Sauce:
- 2-3tbsp sesame paste/tahini (personal preference)
- 3-4tbsp soy sauce
- 2tsp vinegar
- 2tsp sesame oil
- 2-3tbsp pepper flakes
- pinch of salt
- 1-2tbsp sugar
- 2tbsp garlic, finely chopped
- scallion, finely chopped
- sesame
- 2tbsp (OR MORE) chili oil
- cilantro, finely chopped
- roasted and crushed peanuts
- cucumber slices (optional)
Step 1: Form a harder, dryer dough; do not need to knead yet
Step 2: Rest for 45mins, then knead to smooth (~1min will do!)
Step 3: Divide into 6 – 8 small balls, knead each till smooth, rest 10mins
Step 4: Roll out to be around palm’s size, coat both sides with oil, rest for 2 hours!
- enough time for resting dough coated with oil is very important! Gluten will form so it can be easily stretched.
Step 5: Use a chopstick to press down, holding both sides and evenly stretch out till reaching ideal thickness
Step 6: Cook 45secs ~ 1mins till transparent, floating in boiling water
- do not cook everything at once, maybe noodle from 2 small dough at once, otherwise noodle will stick together
- rinse in cold water after
Step 7: in a bowl, add and mix the following ingredients:
- 1tbsp pepper flakes
- 2tbsp garlic, finely chopped
- scallion, finely chopped
- sesame
- 2tbsp (OR MORE) chili oil
Step 8: Over medium-high heat, heat up oil till smoke rises; pour oil over the mix from last step. Be careful! Mix well.
Step 9: In the sauce add the following sauces:
- 2-3tbsp sesame paste/tahini (personal preference)
- 3-4tbsp soy sauce
- 2tsp vinegar
- 2tsp sesame oil
- 2-3tbsp pepper flakes
- pinch of salt
- 1-2tbsp sugar
- cilantro, finely chopped
- roasted and crushed peanuts
Taste and adjust flavors according to preference! If sauce is too dry/sticky, dilute with some water.
Step 10: Add noodles in sauce, cucumber slices (optional), mix well.
READY TO SERVE!
RESOURCES
Detailed differences among black sesame paste (Japan), white sesame paste(China) and tahini (middle east), and sesame’s benefits from Foodsguy.
RedHouse offers substitutes for Chinese sesame paste
