Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce

This was always a staple when we would order in Chinese food and one of my daughter's favorite dishes. The funny thing is, it is the simplest dish to make! I have included suggestions for substitutions again, to reduce the carbohydrate and calories. This is not a low fat or low calorie dish so your portion control is important here, whether you use the substitutions or not. And, once again I have not included the nutrition information because there are a few variations you can use in the ingredients you choose. The best thing about this dish? The taste is amazing and it is just like the restaurant style dish you have all probably tried. I hope you enjoy.

Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce

Ingredients:

12 ounces linguine style pasta, cooked al dente or substitute 2 packages Tofu Shirataki Noodles, either spaghetti or fettuccine style

2 Tbsp. dark sesame oil or substitute toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup all natural peanut butter, no sugar or salt added

1/4 cup tahini paste 

*note ~ you can use either all peanut butter or all tahini if you prefer by just using 1/2 cup of total of either

2 Tbsp. sugar or substitute Splenda

3 Tbsp. soy sauce or substitute reduced sodium soy sauce

1 tsp. ginger root, grated

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar (plain with no added flavors) or substitute brown rice vinegar

Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce to taste (I used Sriracha, a very potent Asian style hot sauce)

1/2 cup scallions, chopped, garnish

1 to 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, garnish

Cook pasta, drain and set aside. If not preparing dish to serve immediately lightly sprinkle the pasta with a bit of sesame oil and toss to coat. This will prevent the pasta from sticking together so you can make this in advance and toss with sauce just before serving.

Whisk together the sesame oil, peanut butter, tahini, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and hot sauce. Thin the sauce with 1/2 cup hot water or amount needed so sauce has the consistency of heavy cream. If preparing the sauce in advance and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve you will need to add a bit more hot water just before tossing as it thickens more when the sauce sits.

Toss pasta with the sauce and serve garnished with scallions and sesame seeds.