Recipes › Cucumber › Sichuan Cold Cucumber Noodles with Sesame and Chilli Oil
Sichuan Cold Cucumber Noodles with Sesame and Chilli Oil
This is one of those dishes that is far more than the sum of its parts. Cucumber is cut into thin noodle-like strips, then drenched in a tongue-tingling sauce of chilli oil, sesame paste, Sichuan pepper and black vinegar. It is fast, fiercely flavoured, and genuinely addictive — the cucumber stays crisp and cool against the heat of the sauce.
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Ingredients
- 750 g cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks or spiralised into noodles
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 tbsp Chinese sesame pasteor tahini, though the flavour is slightly different
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1½ tbsp Chinkiang black vinegaror rice vinegar with a small pinch of sugar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp Chinese chilli oil, more to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- ½ tsp ground Sichuan pepper
- 2 tbsp water
- 40 g roasted peanuts, roughly crushed
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Contains: cereals gluten, peanuts, sesame, soya, sulphites.
Method
- Cut the cucumber into very thin matchsticks about 6cm long and 3mm wide. If you have a spiraliser, use the thinnest noodle blade. Place in a colander, toss with the salt and leave to drain for 10 minutes. Rinse under cold water and dry very well with a clean tea towel.About 12 min
- While the cucumber drains, make the sauce. Whisk together the sesame paste, soy sauce, black vinegar, sesame oil, chilli oil, minced garlic, caster sugar, Sichuan pepper and water until completely smooth. The sauce should be pourable but not thin — add another splash of water if it seems too thick.About 3 min
- Toast the sesame seeds in a small dry pan over medium heat for 2 minutes, shaking regularly, until golden. Remove from the heat immediately.About 2 min
- Place the dried cucumber strips in a large bowl. Pour over the sauce and toss thoroughly to coat every strip. Taste and add more chilli oil or a squeeze of vinegar if you want more heat or brightness.About 2 min
- Transfer to a serving plate or bowl. Scatter over the crushed peanuts, spring onions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately at room temperature.About 1 min
Tips
- The quality of your chilli oil makes or breaks this dish. Use a good Chinese chilli oil with sediment if you can find it — the crispy bits at the bottom carry enormous flavour.
- Chinese sesame paste is darker and more intensely flavoured than Middle Eastern tahini. It is worth finding in an Asian supermarket, but tahini works as a substitute.
- Serve this immediately — if it sits for more than 20 minutes the cucumber begins to soften and release water, which dilutes the sauce.
Ring the changes
- Add 200g of cooked cold soba noodles to bulk this out into a light main course.
- Leave out the peanuts and it becomes peanut-free — double the sesame seeds to compensate for texture.
Keeping it
Not suitable for storing once assembled — the cucumber will weep liquid and go limp. You can make the sauce up to 3 days ahead and keep it refrigerated, then assemble to order.
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