Our blogging friend Colleen from Souffle Bombay brought her Sesame Noodles to this year’s Big Summer Potluck. Days and even weeks after the event, I was still thinking about them! It’s not a complicated or fancy recipe, but ‘the simplicity is spot-on’ and most night’s that’s what we all need. Something homemade that’s simple, foolproof, and delicious. And if, like me, you love the taste of sesame oil – this recipe is for you!

Colleen served the noodles as a cold side dish, but I wanted a big, hot bowl of it all to myself as a main course. Mom and I modified the recipe to make it vegetable-heavy main course pasta. Colleen says in her post, that this is one of those dishes where you hope there will be leftovers. She’s right! This will be a weeknight staple in our house from now on.

Sesame Noodles with Vegetables
Serves 4

*This time of year consider using all broccoli (cut into small florets and stems peeled and thinly sliced) in place of the asparagus. As you can see, we used a bit of both.

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
4 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon Thai chili sauce with garlic
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
Salt
8 ounces linguine, cooked to package directions for al dente
1 bunch (about 1 pound) thin asparagus, halved lengthwise and cut into 2- inch pieces*
2 to 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into thin coins
1 red pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
3 scallions, sliced thin both the white and green
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Measure soy sauce, vinegar, oils, sugar, chili sauce, and pepper flakes in a lidded jar; shake to mix.

Meanwhile, bring 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 quarts of water to boil in a large soup kettle. Add pasta and using back-of-the-box times as a guide, cook partially covered, and at first stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until just tender, adding asparagus and carrots the last 5 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta and vegetables and return to the pot.
Add peppers, scallion, cilantro and then the sauce; toss thoroughly to coat. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled.