In my junior year of college, our group of 15 friends stopped for lunch in Charlotte, NC on our way to spend Spring Break in Florida. Laurie’s parents invited us into their stunning house, and her mother Judy prepared us a homemade spread featuring these sesame noodles. We all raved about them and asked her for the recipe. Forty years later, I guarantee every one of us remembers these noodles, and the magical afternoon that launched the first of many road trips we would take together.
Judy’s Sesame Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 pound thin spaghetti broken into 3 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup sesame seeds
- 6 scallions sliced – green and white parts
- 1 cucumber cut into matchsticks
- 1/4 lb snow pea pods trimmed
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
For the Sauce
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil with hot chiles (or use regular sesame oil and add 1 tsp cayenne)
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 or 2 crushed cloves of garlic (germ removed, if possible)
- 2 inch piece fresh ginger peeled and roughly chopped, or grated
Instructions
- Cook spaghetti at a low boil for 1 minute less than the package instructions. (So if the box says “cook for 9-11 minutes,” cook it for 8 minutes.)
- Drain well, and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
- While the pasta is cooking, process all sauce ingredients in food processor or blender, or shake very well in a jar.
- Toast sesame seeds until just beginning to turn golden. Set aside.
- Sauté snow pea pods in olive oil until slightly softened but still crunchy. Set aside.
- Mix sauce into warm pasta — adding a little reserved cooking water if it’s too thick.
- Add scallions, cucumbers, snow peas, and sesame seeds and toss until well combined.