RECIPE! Sesame Noodles

SESAME NOODLES CAN be yours, too, whenever you want them, with a few common kitchen stalwarts and a couple of easily procured goods. I know its difficult to convince many of you to make your own sesame noodles when you can buy a bundle of them for $1.99 at any given Chinese take-out joint, but here goes:

1 package soba noodles
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ginger (ground, or fresh)
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Crushed red pepper

As you can imagine, you'll want to boil some water and cook the soba noodles--if you can't find the delicious, thick buckwheat variety, any thicker spaghetti-type noodle will do the trick. Mix the peanut butter with soy sauce, rice vinegar, vegetable oil, ginger (I used a few shakes of ground ginger instead of grating fresh stuff), garlic, and sesame oil. Add a few shakes of the crushed red pepper for spice, and pour the delicious mixture over your noodles. Voila!

The Daily Green website from which I borrowed this basic recipe does note that this recipe, per serving, boasts 17 g. of fat. Of course, no one said sesame noodles were healthy. At least the 22 g. of protein is some small consolation.

Serving suggestion: the next day, cold, eaten straight of the plastic tub you stored them in. If you want to get fancy, grate some carrots, radishes, and/or cucumber. Pairs well with a '00 Bordeaux.