20-minute sesame noodles

Well, maybe it took me 30 minutes. Nonetheless, sesame noodles take a solid spot in my repertoire of simple meals that I keep making over and over again, especially when I am pressed for time like this week. In the version I am sharing with you today, I first cooked some Vietnamese rice noodles and sugar snap peas in boiling water, grated a carrot, then tossed everything with a sauce made from tahini (ground sesame paste), warm water, minced ginger, and a bit of tamari. I served the noodles alongside canned mock meat that I bought from a Chinese grocery store in Oakland's Chinatown. The mock meat was imported from Taiwan. I know I said before that I would eat local as much as possible, but I've yet to find a convenient place to buy freshly-made, quality Chinese-style mock meat in the Bay area. (Lucky Creation Vegetarian Restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown is another place that does it well). In case you're wondering, Chinese-style mock meat is usually made with wheat gluten and have a chewy texture, and can have different tastes depending on how it is prepared. I got vegetarian ham and abalone this time.

Sesame noodles served with Chinese-style mock meat

You can easily create your own version of sesame noodles, or more broadly, Asian noodle salad, by experimenting with different kinds of noodles (buckwheat and soba are my favorites), veggies, and ingredients in the sauce. Say substitute tahini with peanut butter or toasted sesame oil, or toss in some cubed tofu or avocado. I like my noodles to be a bit spicy, so I often add some red pepper flakes when I make the sauce or at the very end. Garnish with chopped green onions, mint, cilantro, or lemon/lime wedges. You can serve the noodles warm or cold, and because they hold together well and the flavors actually get better if they have time to develop, these noodles are ideal to take to the office for lunch.

These two recipes from Vegetarian Times and food blog Cookthink should be good starting points for you to get creative!