Sesame Peanut Noodle Salad

Sometimes, I am sure a recipe has already been created to satisfy what I am wanting to eat.  This dish, however, I could not find anything about.  I had to wing it, and it turned out way better than I ever could have anticipated.  Luckily, I didn’t make too much or I would have been devouring it all night long.  I love to experiment, but I like to go into my experimentation with a bit of an idea of what others have done that they felt was worthy enough to share.  Feel free to share this gem.  Rage on!

Ingredients

1. 1 6oz Package Chow Mein Stir-fry noodles(the uncooked kind)
2. 1 T Sesame Seeds
3. 2 Green Onions, thinly sliced
4. 1 tsp. Sesame Oil
5. 1 T Oil(vegetable or olive oil works fine here)
6. 2 T Granulated Sugar
7. 1 tsp. Brown Sugar
8. 1/2 tsp. Soy Sauce
9. 1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
10. 3 T Peanut Butter(crunchy is what I used but either works)
11. 2 cups of the crunchy Chow Mein Noodles(the already cooked kind)
12. 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts(this is optional)

Quick Directions

1. Cook the pasta for about 3-5 minutes or until done but not much past al dente.  Cool.
2. Mix sesame oil, vegetable or olive oil, both sugars, soy sauce, ground ginger, sesame seeds, and peanut butter till combined.
3. Wash and cut green onions.
4. Combine dressing with noodles, then fold in the green onions and chopped nuts if you decided to add them.
5. Top with the crunchy noodles shortly before serving so they don’t become soggy.
6. Enjoy!

Detailed Directions
Start by cooking those noodles off.  The noodles won’t take long, only about 3-5 minutes once added to a pot of boiling water(remember to stir a little bit so they don’t stick while cooking).  Once they are done, rinse in cold water and place in the refrigerator.  They will stick together a bit, but you should be able to separate them just fine when stirring in the sauce.  However, if you like, you can take a knife and cut them up a bit with a rough chop to help the process out.






Mix the sauce together.  It will take a little bit, but it is supposed to be thicker to cling to the noodles nicely.

 


Wash and slice the green onions into nice little rings.  They don’t have to be uniform, but try to keep them close.



Combine everything together except for the crunchy noodles.  Once that is done, the dish is complete…except for the crunchy noodles.  Add those on top not long before you plan to serve it.  Otherwise they could become soggy and will really take away from their purpose of adding a nice crunch.



Closing Thoughts
There are several things  you could add to this dish, and they are all your choice.  The color is not really the greatest as is, but some thinly sliced carrots could really add a nice pop or even some red peppers diced up in there.  More green onions would add more of that nice green accent.  Toasting the sesame seeds for 4-8 minutes at 300 would add another dimension to it also.  Don’t be afraid to experiment on my experiment.  Cooking is not for everyone, my only hope is to bring those timid people into the kitchen.  It is more fun when more people join the rage!   Rage on my friends.