Chinese cold noodles

One of my favorite Chinese dishes is a cold noodle dish called Wangfujing Leng Mian. A restaurant in Alhambra, CA, tops the noodles with sliced ham, sliced egg, bean sprouts, and thinly sliced cucumbers after tossing them in a sesame peanut sauce. This dish is all about the sauce while the toppings are mere garnishes. I actually had this dish three times in the past 2 weeks and I can eat it again tonight!

Chinese Cold Noodles (Wangfujing Leng Mian)

Recipe from worldfoodieguide.com

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

1 lb fresh or dried Chinese egg noodles

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 lb cucumbers (about one medium cucumber)

6 oz fresh bean sprouts

Sauce:

1 tbsp finely chopped garlic

1 tbsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

2 tsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

2 1/2 tbsp sesame paste or peanut butter 

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp white rice vinegar

2 tsp chili oil

2 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions

1. Boil noodles according to instructions, drain, rinse in cold water and toss immediately in sesame oil. Peel and slice cucumbers in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds using a teaspoon. Cut into fine long shreds. Rinse bean sprouts and drain.
2. Mix sauce ingredients together in a bowl or in a blender. When you are ready to serve, toss the noodles with the sauce, cucumber and bean sprouts. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and serve immediately. 

Nutritional Analysis:
per serving : 520 calories, 27.0g fat (4.1g saturated, 11.0g polyunsaturated, 10.0g monounsaturated), 59.3g carbohydrates, 6.7g fiber, 14.8g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

First things first, I believe this recipe made an error when it says 1 lb of fresh or dried egg noodles for 2 servings because quite frankly, that is an awful lot of noodles! According to health guidelines you should consume 2 oz of pasta or 1 cup of noodles. I love noodles and believe 1 cup to be too little so I did 4 oz per serving for a total of 8 oz (or half the amount stated in the recipe). 

Chinese sesame paste was difficult to find so I used tahini instead. I've made noodles with peanut butter substituting the sesame paste, but I knew that this substitution would not produce what I wanted for this dish. When I have these noodles at the restaurant, the sauce has a sesame taste but not a peanut one. 

When using tahini, you will end up with a creamier sauce than the original recipe. Important: do not blend your sauce! I made one batch blending the sauce and it became so thick it was hard to mix with the noodles. Instead, minced the garlic and ginger and mix together with the remaining ingredients.

Now for the toppings. You can choose to just have cucumbers and bean sprouts, but since I wanted to replicate the one from the restaurant, I added egg and ham. Make egg crepes by heating a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add enough oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Whisk 2 eggs in a bowl and pour into the pan. Swirl the egg around to get an even layer. When you see the edges cook, carefully flip the crepe over and cook the other side. Remove and slice into strips. Set aside.

When compiling this dish, I tossed the noodles with the sauce and topped with the prepared garnishes. I then drizzled extra sauce on top. I omitted the granulated sugar on top. 

I was surprisingly happy with how this turned out. The sauce was actually very close to what I've had at other establishments. I imagine with Chinese sesame paste, it would be spot on. Tahini is not as strong as Chinese sesame paste and is creamier so it did add that extra element, but I still enjoyed the noodles nonetheless. Incredibly filling and perfect for a hot day!