Chinese Cold Noodle Salad with Sesame Dressing

There's a dizzying array of sesame noodle recipes, from American-Chinese takeout-style sesame noodles thickened with peanut butter and the deeply nutty and brilliantly spiced Taiwanese noodles found in local 7-Elevens to spicy Sichuan dandan noodles and soupier Chinese-Japanese tantan noodles.

This recipe presents a basic homestyle version of the dish, utilizing my all-purpose Chinese vinaigrette as its base, which I came up with after studying dozens of Chinese cold dishes, or liangcai (涼菜), a wide range of vegetable and meat dishes that are served chilled and dressed. While those recipes vary and the dressings vary, too, I found enough common elements that, with a bit of testing, I was able to come up with a basic version that can be used and adjusted as one wishes, much like an all-purpose salad vinaigrette.

The key ingredients in my all-purpose Chinese dressing are soy sauce, a homemade aromatic oil, vinegar, and sugar, in a ratio by volume of 3:3:1:1, respectively. To alter that basic formula for these sesame noodles, I took the oil component and split it so that it's one part homemade aromatic oil and two parts toasted sesame oil. Then I whisk in some sesame paste, first dissolved in warm water, to bulk up the sesame flavor and create a creamier, emulsified sauce.

For the noodles, I chose thin wheat noodles, which I boil, drain, toss with oil, and then chill, all without rinsing. Rinsing is a common technique in many cold noodle recipes, as it cools them quickly and, by washing off surface starches, prevents sticking as they sit. By lightly coating mine with oil, I'm able to retain those surface starches while still preventing sticking, which are helpful later when it comes time to dress them—the dressing clings more evenly to the noodles thanks to those surface starches and the thin coating of oil.

The toppings suggested here are traditional and simple—sesame seeds, cucumbers, and scallions for freshness and textural contrast—but feel free to get creative.