I love the Pioneer Woman’s blog. She takes tons of photos and walks her readers through each step of a recipe. And when I saw her post on sesame noodles, I knew I had to make them. I had every single ingredient in my pantry and fridge. They were calling out to me. I did make some adjustments, though. Her recipes usually call for too much oil or butter or sugar. I prefer lighter cooking. I also don’t like dishes that are just pasta so I took her advice to add veggies and shrimp. I had soba noodles in the pantry which is an Asian buckwheat noodle. You can use any kind of noodle you have or go to the store and try something new!
Adapted from the Pioneer Woman
Sesame Soba Noodles with Shrimp
serves 3 as a main course
1/3 cup shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped (omit if vegetarian/vegan)
1 small bell pepper, cut into small strips
8 ounces thin noodles, cooked and drained
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey (replace with agave nectar if vegan)
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons pure sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons hot water
3 to 4 green onions, sliced thin
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds (optinal)
- Saute the shrimp and bell pepper with a little bit of oil over medium heat. Cook until the shrimp turn pink and opaque (3-5 minutes). The peppers should still be crunchy. Toss shrimp and peppers into the noodles you’ve already cooked.
- Whisk all liquid ingredients and garlic together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
- Toss noodles together with sauce and sprinkle with green onions.
These are the noodles I had in my pantry. Unfortunately, the cooking directions were written in Chinese.
Luckily, the number 5 was on the package. So I cooked them for 5 minutes and they were perfect!
I absolutely love this dressing for the noodles. It’s very simple but extremely flavorful. The raw garlic adds a nice bite without being too overwhelming.
Here are the gorgeous noodles before we added the shrimp. This would be a great vegetarian option. You could add some tofu, mushrooms, and bean sprouts to make it a more hearty vegetarian dish.
But we like ours with shrimp!
The Jersey Cook 