• 1 pound noodles, frozen or (preferably) fresh
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil, plus a splash
• 3 ? tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Chinese rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste
• 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons chile-garlic paste, chile crisp or chile oil, or to taste
• Half a cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/8-inch by 1/8-inch by 2-inch sticks
• ? cup chopped roasted peanuts

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes. They should retain a hint of chewiness.
2. Drain noodles, rinse with cold water, drain again and toss with a splash of sesame oil.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil, the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame paste, peanut butter, sugar, ginger, garlic and chili-garlic paste.
4. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl,
5. Garnish with cucumber and peanuts. Or whatever you like.

Make 50% more sauce.

RH Note: we can do on bunch of noodles in the freezer inside on the top drawer. Use the thicker ones.

We can also garnish with the chicken and some of those celery leaves, chopped up.

I learned how to make a version of this from a Chinese native years ago before Chinese ingredients were widely available. You can get a similar “feel” by substituting thick (or standard) spaghetti for Chinese noodles, substituting toasted sesame oil for the paste (but don't omit the p'nut butter, smooth or crunchy), adding cayenne pepper if you don't have chili-garlic paste, and using any thin, crunchy vegetables to garnish, including beansprouts, fresh cilantro, etc.

RH comment: Hmmmm. that Slaw may be just the thing!

It goes on picnics too. Guests are offer condiments shredded duck or chicken, tofu, cucumber, sweet red pepper, hot pepper, scallion, jicama, and so on. Keep them all about the same size with shredding or julienne. Letting guests compose their own plate accommodates herbivores and carnivores.

Make 50% more sauce.