Spicy Sesame Chili Oil Noodles dish. Photo courtesy of Workman Publishing

Recipe is excerpted from That Noodle Life © 2022 by Michael and Stephanie Le, photos by Michael Le. Reproduced by permission of Workman Publishing. All rights reserved.

Let’s Stay In Tonight!

We like to make a big batch of these noodles for a long night of staying in, eating noodles, and binge-watching whole TV series. These aren’t your standard takeout sesame peanut noodles. First off, there’s no peanut butter—instead, deep and distinctively nutty sesame paste and chili oil contribute the bulk of the texture and flavor. A hint of Chinese black vinegar, with its malty, slightly sweet bite, cuts the richness of the sesame paste and plays off the heat of the chili oil. Balanced and complex, these noodles hit all the right flavor notes. Ingredients:

Notes: This recipe calls for your favorite noodle of choice. We prefer Shangxi planed noodles, which are ruffle-edged dried Chinese knife-cut noodles, easily found at any Asian grocery store, but you can use any noodle you like or have on hand—you are staying in tonight after all! As a rough guide, go for 4 to 6 ounces of fresh noodles per person or 3 ounces of dried. If you can’t find Chinese sesame paste, try substituting tahini or, in a pinch, sugar-free natural peanut butter. Black vinegar can be switched out for balsamic or any other vinegar you might have on hand.  

Tip: Don’t like your sesame noodles spicy? Substitute hoisin sauce for the chili oil.

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