Sesame Sauce

For those of us trying to save a buck, Chinese food is a classic take-out option.  Granted, what they sell at China House or Panda Express is heavily Americanized “Chinese food”, but you can generally walk away with pounds of food for some loose change.   My $4.50 always feels well spent.  Occasionally though, the MSG-flavoring accosts my taste buds and puts them into a salty headlock.  Not even the sticky rice can save me.  

Wanting to keep the salt-and-soy-sauce taste to a minimum, I made a sesame sauce over broccoli, red pepper and rice.  The sauce was smoky and sweet, accentuated by a tinge of vinegar.  I drizzled the sauce over a plate of crisp steamed vegetables and rice.  If you make a fair amount of Asian food, soy sauce should not be the only flavoring weapon in your arsenal.  While soy sauce is a necessity, I would recommend adding sesame oil as well.  This oil adds a rich, smoky taste to sauces and pairs well with chicken and vegetable dishes.  Sticker shock might coax you to avoid this selection, but when you use only a teaspoon at a time it is well worth the investment.  The next asset you should have is Sriracha, an Asian chili (hot) sauce.   Its spicy garlic flavoring emboldens soups, sauces, and entrees.   This is not a complete or even extensive amount of Asian flavorings, but it will provide us with enough to vary the taste options in future cooking endeavors. 

Sesame Sauce

Ingredients:

2 ½ T white sugar

2 T all-purpose flour

½ cup vegetable/chicken broth

1 ½ tsp white vinegar

1 ½ tsp soy sauce

1 ½ tsp sesame oil

¼ tsp sriracha hot sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

Instructions:

1.       Combine sugar and flour in small sauce pan. 

2.       Turn stove on to medium heat.  Add broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha and garlic.  

3.       While whisking contents, bring to a boil. 

4.       Then reduce and simmer for about 5 min.

Cold Noodle and Sesame Chicken Salad

Cold pasta for dinner? It’s like cold pizza, only much more versatile. While I would normally question reverting back to a typical pre-adolescent’s choice meal for dinner, I assure you that this will suit your aged tastes. The bite of rice vinegar and soy sauce is tamed by the sweetness of a few spoonfuls of sugar; then the nuttiness of the sesame pervades your taste buds. This recipe, while so tangy and fresh, is also light and convenient. Convenient in the sense that it can be made ahead, left in the fridge for dinner, easily brought to lunch or work, or enjoyed as a late night snack. Hands down, this is perfect for the unpredictable schedule of a twenty-something-year-old in college.

Beware of strong fragrances when you reopen the container after a few days – if it even lasts that long. I received quite a strong sesame greeting when I opened the container after a few days. With this recipe, tangy is good; more than two day old tanginess – not so much. My bet is on the fresh green onions that got a little too pushy in the smell department. I would suggest keeping those separate, as a garnish. Make sure to include them though once you eat, as it adds a lovely color and flavor balance to the entire dish.

Overall, it’s a great sweet sesame meal – which is a flavor combo winner in my book. For those of you who like to turn up the heat however, I might suggest some Sriracha or another Asian hot sauce. It’s not always about the heat with hot sauce, but the flavor; so Texas Pete or Tabasco might not be the best choices.

Cold Noodle and Sesame Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

4 T sesame seeds

6 oz bowtie pasta

¼ cup vegetable oil

1/6 cup soy sauce

1/6 cup rice vinegar

½ t sesame oil

1 ½ T white sugar

¼ t ground ginger

Dash ground pepper

1 ½ cups cooked chicken, chopped

5 carrots, cooked and sliced

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

4 green onions, sliced

Instructions:

1. Heat small skillet over medium high heat. Add sesame seeds, stirring constantly until lightly toasted. Remove from heat.

2. Cook pasta and carrots, rinse with cold water. Put in large plastic container.

3. Meanwhile, make sauce: in a tightly sealable container, mix oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and seeds, sugar, ginger, and pepper. Shake well.

4. Add chicken to pasta and carrots. Pour sauce over all. Chill.

5. Garnish with fresh green onions and cilantro before serving.