SESAME NOODLES

I  was going to make these for dinner one night and didn't read the recipe through.  I was very disappointed when I got the "put in the refrigerator overnight" part. I love ginger and garlic, but they ovewhelmed this dish. So next time I'll cut those back and increase the vinegar and soy sauce. And maybe add some more vegetables. I only made a half recipe and it was enough for three meals.

Sesame Noodles

1 lb. spaghetti or linguine
7 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce
6 green onions, diced
sesame seeds (black or regular), for garnish
chili flakes, for garnish

Serves 6-8

Cook the noodles al dente.  Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water.  When they’re cool, let the noodles sit in the colander to drain while you mix up the sauce.

Sauce:

Mince up the garlic and put it in a medium-sized bowl.Add your ginger, then sugar, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sriracha chili sauce, and sesame oil to the bowl.  Whisk the ingredients together well.  Pour into a medium-sized pot cook over high heat, whisking occasionally to help the sugar dissolve.  Take the pot off the heat when the mixture just comes up to a boil. Whisk it again well. You want to heat it up just long enough to dissolve the sugar. (This means you’ll still have plenty of fresh garlic and ginger flavor.) Tip the pot a little and look at the sauce. You shouldn’t see any sugar granules. Give it a taste to be sure.  Put your cold noodles in a large mixing bowl and pour the hot dressing over the noodles. Slice the green onions into rings and add to the noodles.  Gently toss the noodles to coat them in the sauce with a wooden spoon or tongs.  Once they’re well coated, transfer to a large zip lock bag and refrigerate over night.

When you’re ready to serve, garnish with sesame seeds and chili flakes.