Comments on: peanut sesame noodles

By: Nancy

Nancy — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:51:52 +0000

Hey, after posting my last comment, I tried something to perk up my too-bland leftover noodles (too bland because I did not follow the recipe carefully — not the fault of the recipe), and I want to mention this because it was easy worked well! I mixed some more rice vinegar and honey with a little soy sauce in a bowl, and added it to the noodles for a more “sweet and sour” effect. Tastes really great.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:56:28 +0000

Mm, I saw this picture and couldn’t get it out of my mind, even though I NEVER cook. I tried a super-lazy, super-amateur version without the garlic or ginger since I don’t own a blender to mix them, and I mixed everything by hand. Came out okay, but I made two mistakes that I will avoid next time: 1) I forgot to salt the pasta water, so the noodles came out really bland 2) I tried adapting the sauce proportions by tasting before adding it to the pasta. Since the sauce seemed too thick and strong when tasted alone, I watered it down. Then, when I added it to the pasta, the flavor was weakened and I regretted having messed with it. So next time, I will try to be better about following the instructions. Thanks a lot fo.r posting the recipe

By: Christyna

Christyna — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:32:37 +0000

Deb & Maggie,

Thanks for your responses! You’re right, Maggie, I used all-natural smooth peanut butter from Whole Foods. I thought because it was the ‘no stir’ type (sweetened with cane sugar or some such thing), that it would do.
I suppose the healthier option doesn’t always work. But we knew that already, no?
Thanks, again!

By: Maggie

Maggie — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:29:09 +0000

@Christyna: I’ll bet your thickening problem came from using ‘natural’ peanut butter. I’ve had the same experience, and find that it doesn’t happen if you use regular old supermarket peanut butters — the emulsified kind, like Jif or Skippy.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:26:47 +0000

Here’s a tip for this dish that I learned watching Martin Yan make it many years ago: instead of the water called for in the dressing, use very strong black tea instead. It gives a depth of flavor that’s remarkable. Umami?

By: sophie

sophie — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:48:41 +0000

You’re a genius – this is a fantastic dish. I had to modify the vegetable content (spring onion, finely sliced cabbage and carrots, and cucumbers), and I didn’t have any garlic, but apart from that I followed the recipe. For sticky noodle problems I recommend immediately rinsing noodles with cold water after cooking, and mixing through a teaspoon of oil (not olive) if necessary.

By: deb

deb — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:19:27 +0000

Hi Christina — Not sure what happened, but you can always thin the sauce with a bit of water (or soy, if you feel it needs more of a salty punch) if this happens. I find that different peanut butters do thicken it a bit differently, but like I said, no harm in thinning it next time.

By: Christyna

Christyna — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:20:02 +0000

I thought this recipe sounded divine, but when I tried it out last night (I was faithful to the recipe down to the last millilleter!) I found the noodles stuck together and the peanut flavour was far too overwhelming (and I LOVE peanut butter). The sauce was also quite sticky, which is probably why everything clumped together.
I’ve never had problems with any of your other recipes (which have all been very popular with friends and family), so I don’t know what gives?

By: Cristina

Cristina — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:40:46 +0000

Hi everyone! This too has become a perennial favorite – though has anyone figured out how to get the noodles not to stick together? It makes it hard to toss…

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:08:39 +0000

Wonderful, thank you!