Summer Squash Sesame Noodles
Sesame noodles are one of those things I get cravings for pretty frequently. Somehow they always bring to mind my 20-something days in New York City when Chinese food was the go-to for many a young woman like myself, who was always on the go. They also remind me of one of my most frustrating culinary escapades: the search for the perfect batch.
I found them once, quite by accident as I was window shopping on Columbus Avenue one summer afternoon. As was normally the case, sometime in my travels I got so hungry, I felt like I had a hole in my stomach. What to fill it with? Because there was always an urgency to this situation – as if I were about to expire in the desert or something! Just like that, I caught sight of some tiny, little place with a Chinese good luck symbol flashing in the window like a welcoming beacon. It wasn’t a fancy place. And the menu could have been a carbon copy of any other Chinese restaurant in the area. But I was starving and it was there.
I ordered out, intending to take my food and eat on a bench in the shade outside of the Museum of Natural History. What did I order? You guessed it: sesame noodles. And an egg roll .
That was the best bunch of sesame noodles I ever had in my whole life. I don’t know if it was my hunger or the perfect nature of a beautiful day or the noodles themselves, but they were delicious. Creamy, nutty, not even a little cloying with just the right amount of scallions that still had crunch. And wouldn’t you know it: in less than a month after that, that place closed and reopened as something completely different. Someplace that didn’t have sesame noodles at all.
This was one of the great travesties in life. Small perhaps, but great. I’ve never gotten over it. Finding sesame noodles to compare with those has become like the search for the Holy Grail.
And now, we take it a step further.
Finding it raw. Or, alternately. making it raw. Is this possible? Or am I barking up the ‘raw-ng’ tree?
I made these the other day, spurred by craving and nostalgia. Summer squash seemed like the perfect, mild solution to create the base noodles and honestly, it was a great choice. The rest? A labor of love and longing and an homage: to that tiny place off Columbus Avenue that didn’t stay around long enough for me to thank them for one of the best little meals I’ve ever had the pleasure to eat.
Can my sesame noodles match theirs? Never. I’ve finally come to accept that the bar is just set too high.
But they come pretty close.
RAW VEGAN RECIPE: Summer Squash Sesame Noodles
2 large summer squash, spiralized
4 carrots, julienned and cut into matchstick size pieces
6 scallions, white and green, julienned and cut into matchstick size pieces plus 2 scallions, sliced thin for garnish
i cucumber, julienned and cut into matchstick sized pieces
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds for garnish
Prepare all ingredients except garnish (sliced scallions and sesame seeds) and toss together.
Sesame Sauce
1/2 cup raw almond butter
1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Nama Shoyu
1 Tbsp. (toasted) sesame oil *
2 cloves garlic. minced
1/2 to 2/3 cup filtered water, as needed
First, whisk all the ingredients except water together in a mixing bowl. Gradually add water till desired consistency is reached: sauce should be thick but easy to pour.
Pour over prepared veggies and toss gently to coat well.
Garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.
SERVES 2
*toasted sesame oil is one of those ingredients that, technically, cannot be considered raw but the ‘toasted’ aspect is definitely a flavor enhancer so it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth the minor ‘cheat’!
