LaoGanMa Spicy Cold Noodles

This is a simple 1-2-3 step recipe:

1) prepare the sauce base

2) prepare the noodles

3) combine and mix

Voila!

I used spaghetti in this recipe because I really like the texture of the noodles.

You’ll need:

• 200 grams spaghetti

for sauce base:

• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon Chinese black vinegar
• 2 green onions/scallions, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1½ tablespoons of chili sauce, I use LaoGanMa chili sauce, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons roasted white sesame seeds (optional)
• 3 tablespoons oil
• ⅓ cup roasted peanuts. You can roast raw peanuts by yourself or buy roasted peanuts.

for garnishing:

• A handful of leafy greens of your choice, I use soy sprouts
• A small handful of chopped cilantro

Instructions:

1. Sauce base: take a bowl, mix together the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, chopped scallion, minced ginger, minced garlic, LaoGanMa chili sauce, and sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds

If you make roasted peanuts: 

2. Roast peanuts over stovetop: this step is tricky, it is easy to over-roast the peanuts. Tip: use low heat & keep stirring continuously. Here is a good how to. Once peanuts are roasted, take them out of the oil quickly, and drizzle the oil to the sauce base.

 

If you buy roasted peanuts:

2. Heat the fry pan or wok over low to medium heat, add 3tbsp cooking oil, when the oil gets hot, turn off the heat. Pour the hot oil to the sauce base. Be careful of handling the hot oil.

3. Crush the roasted peanuts. If you make your own roasted peanuts, let the peanuts cool down completely before crushing them.

  

4. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and a drop of oil, cook the spaghetti to al dente. When the spaghetti is one or two minutes away from done, add in the soy sprouts to blanch. Cook for the remaining time, then drain well the spaghetti and soy sprouts. Tip: depending on the leafy vegetable you choose, you might need to adjust the timing to add in the vegetable to blanch.

5. Finally, pour the sauce base over the noodles, stir to combine, and top with chopped cilantro. Mix well.

   

Serve and Enjoy!

Cooking Tips:

How to roast the sesame seeds: take a non-stick fry pan, heat it over low heat, low heat is easy to control to avoid over-roast. When the pan is hot (put a hand over the pan, you can feel the heat), add in the sesame seeds, shake the pan over the heat frequently till sesame seeds slightly turn golden brown and aroma comes out. Take the pan away from the heat.