Sesame Noodles

With summer coming to a close, and Labor Day BBQ’s right around the corner, I could not help but dish up one last cold noodle salad for you! This dish is great for a BBQ, to bring to a potluck, or even for all of the upcoming tailgating.

Sesame Noodles are one of my favorites of all time, and very sentimental. My mom used to make a version of these often in the summer, and the love for Asian noodle salads stuck!

I make this one with vermicelli noodles, but I think that while wheat spaghetti or soba noodles would be absolutely great instead. I also changed my childhood version by adding lots of fresh, crunchy vegetables. Not only do these help to lighten up the sesame noodles, but it also adds tons of flavor, texture and color o the dish.

I’m pretty sure that this dish will wind up on my weekend table- Please let me know what you are planning to serve for your Labor Day weekend festivities, I would love to know!

Sesame Noodles, 8-10 servings
-1lb vermicelli noodles
-½ small purple cabbage, thinly julienned
-1 bunch fresh cilantro
-1 bunch green onions, mined (2 Tbs reserved)
-2 bell peppers, julienned
-½ cup peanut butter
-1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
-4 Tbs sesame oil (make sure it is fresh- old sesame oil has no flavor)
-3 Tbs soy sauce
-¼ tsp red pepper flakes (add more if you like it spicier)
-4 Tbs toasted sesame seeds

1)Bring a large salted pot of water to a boil.

2)Cook the vermicelli one minute shorter than the instructions on the box.

3)Immediately drain and rinse them with cold water. Set aside.

4)In a large bowl, place the cabbage and the cilantro.

5)Add the bell peppers and the green onions.

6) Add 2 Tbs of the sesame seeds.

7)Add the cold noodles to the bowl.

8)In a mason jar or other small tupperwear, combine the peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Shake the jar or tupperwear really hard until the ingredients have made a smooth and creamy sauce.

9)Pour the sauce over the noodles and vegetables and gently toss until all of the noodles are coated.

10)Pile the noodles and vegetables on a plate and garnish with the remaining 2 Tbs of green onions and 2 Tbs sesame seeds. (I also used chive blossoms because they were available (and pretty.)