Nigel Slater’s quick sesame noodles

This noodle supper is on the table in minutes, involves almost no cooking and also happens to be vegan. It is one of those recipes open to endless tweaking and you can use more or less sesame paste, mirin, soy or garlic as the fancy takes you. The sauce is improved immeasurably by using Chinese roasted sesame paste if you can get it. The seeds being roasted before grinding, it has a darker colour and deeper flavour than the usual paler varieties

The pungent saltiness of the sauce is calmed once it is tossed with the hot, plump noodles.

Serves 2
garlic 4 large, juicy cloves
groundnut or vegetable oil 1 tbsp
fresh Shanghai noodles 400g
roasted sesame paste 4 tbsp
soy sauce 2-3 tbsp
mirin 2 tbsp
rice wine vinegar 1 tbsp
toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp

Peel the garlic cloves and grind to a paste with a good pinch of sea salt using a pestle and mortar. Warm the groundnut oil in a shallow pan over moderate heat, add the garlic paste and fry for a minute or two till fragrant.

Cook the noodles in deep, fast boiling, generously salted water for 1 minute, unless the instructions on your packet are different.

Mix together the sesame paste, soy sauce, mirin and rice wine vinegar, then stir into the garlic. Drain the noodles and toss with the sauce, then shake over a little sesame oil to taste.

This article was originally published on 18 February 2024