Stir Fried Sesame Noodles

Since I need to move out of my residence in two weeks, I am trying to use up some of my dry items that have accumulated over the course of the year.  One of these was a box of pasta which I bought a while ago, but as I don't really cook pasta much for myself, I had used only a tiny bit of the box.  I was bringing a veg dish for my Bible study dinner on Tuesday though, so I thought it was a great opportunity to use it up. 

 

Since I would be making it the night before, and taking it to the clinic with me the next day, I knew my dish would need to be cold, and as soon as I thought of a cold noodle dish, I thought of one of my favourite Korean side dishes, 잡채 (japchae)!  My resulting dish is definitely not 잡채, which is typically made with 당면 (dangmyeon) - Korean sweet potato noodles, (which I would use so much more than regular pasta if I had them, mmmm they are so yummy!) but it does have the sesame oil and thinly sliced veggies typical of the dish, and I think it still tastes pretty good. :)

 

 

Stir Fried Sesame Noodles

Ingredients:

Pasta - 400g dry weight*
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Canola oil - 1 teaspoon
Onion - 1 sliced
Zucchini - 1 sliced
Mushrooms - 1 lb sliced**
Green onions - 3 stems chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves minced
Ginger - 1/2 inch minced
Soy sauce - 1 teaspoon or to taste
Toasted sesame oil - 2-3 tablespoons
Toasted sesame seeds - 2 tablespoons

Instructions:

Bring a pot of water to boil with salt.  Add pasta and cook until al dente.  Immediately drain under cold water, and add canola oil to prevent pasta from sticking together.

To make dressing, mix minced garlic and ginger with soy sauce and 1.5 tablespoons of sesame oil.  Set aside.

Heat remaining 1.5 tablespoons of sesame oil in a large pan or wok on medium-high heat.  Add sliced onion and mushrooms, and fry until almost browned.  Add zucchini and green onions and continue frying until just soft. 

Once vegetables are cooked, mix with pasta, and pour on dressing, stir well to combine.  Top with toasted sesame seeds.  I served this dish cold, but I think it would also be nice served immediately while still hot.

 

This dish made probably enough for around 4-6 people depending on appetite and what you're serving with it. 

 

Notes:

 

* If you have them, feel free to substitute real sweet potato noodles for the wheat pasta!  I was just using up what I had, but I think with the 당면 this would be even better!

 

** If you'd like to add some extra protein to this to make it more substantial for a main dish, you could add some sliced firm tofu.  Next time I make a dish like this, I would probably double the veggies. :) This dish would also be good with other vegetables like bell peppers, julienned carrots, spinach, or bean sprouts. 

 

Enjoy! :)