Cold Sesame Noodles With Smoked Chicken Recipes

COLD SESAME NOODLES WITH SMOKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Bring a pot with 3 to 4 quarts water to a boil for ramen or thin spaghetti. If using thin spaghetti, you'll need baking soda as well (see Cook's Note). Ramen does not require salt to be added into water.
• Take 4 scallions and trim, cut into thirds and slice lengthwise; put in ice cold water to curl the scallions. Thinly slice the remainder of the 2 bunches on a bias and reserve.
• For dressing, in a food processor, combine tahini paste, shoyu or soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, mirin, toasted sesame oil, ginger, garlic, chili paste or sauce and light brown sugar. Process sauce until smooth and add a splash of bottled or filtered water if necessary to thin--sauce should be creamy but pourable. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• Drop ramen or pasta into boiling water and cook ramen 4 minutes (thin spaghetti about 6 minutes). Drain and cold rinse, then drain again. Toss ramen with sauce, sliced scallions, three-quarters of the cucumbers and three-quarters of the chicken. Drain scallion curls. Arrange noodles in shallow bowls and top with scallion curls, remaining chicken and cucumbers, lots of sesame seeds and a few dollops of chili paste if desired.

COLD SESAME NOODLES WITH SHREDDED CHICKEN

Steps:

• First, make the shredded chicken. (As noted above, you can do this the day before and just take the shredded chicken out of the refrigerator before you begin the final preparations.) Boil 4 qts. of water with one tablespoon of salt. When the water reaches a boil, add the chicken and cook for about 20-25 minutes.
• Pour out the water and allow the chicken to cool on a cutting board or in a bowl.
• If you are unable to find toasted sesame seeds, toast the sesame seeds in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon sesame seeds in a small bowl.
• In a blender or small food processor, puree the remaining 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, and sugar until smooth, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the sauce has the consistency of heavy cream, about 5 tablespoons; set the mixture aside (it can be left in the blender jar or food processor workbowl). If you wish, add the crushed red pepper for a little zing. (Start with 1/8 of a teaspoon and go from there.).
• Bring 5 quarts water and the other tablespoon of salt to a boil in a stockpot over high heat. While you wait for the water to boil, you can shred your chicken.
• Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces and set aside.
• Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook them according to the directions on the package (about 4 minutes for fresh and 10 minutes for dried pasta).
• Drain the noodles, return them to the pot, then rinse them again with cold running tap water until they are cool to the touch; drain them again.
• In a large bowl, toss the noodles with the sesame oil until evenly coated. Add the shredded chicken, scallions, carrot, and sauce; toss to combine. Divide among individual bowls, sprinkle each bowl with a portion of reserved sesame seeds, and cucumber decoration and serve.