sesame paste

Noodles dressed with sesame are popular in many parts of China, but this particular style, made with peanut butter and served cold, became a Chinese-American staple in the United States in the 1970s. The family of Shorty Tang — an ambitious restaurateur who emigrated from Sichuan to Taipei to New York — firmly believes that he invented the dish and still serve it at Hwa Yuan, the restaurant he opened in 1967 in Manhattan’s Chinatown. They have never divulged the exact recipe; this is our own lush but refreshing version.

Takeout-Style Sesame Noodles

noodles, frozen or (preferably) fresh

sesame oil,

soy sauce

Chinese rice vinegar

peanut butter

sugar

ginger

garlic

chile-garlic paste, chile crisp or chile oil,

peanuts

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. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain again and toss with a splash of sesame oil.

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.

Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with cucumber and peanuts.

Thick and chewy rice noodles coated in a slightly sweet, savoury, and really satisfying hoisin sesame sauce. Mix it all up and slurp away! You’ll only need 1 pot, 1 bowl, 8 Ingredients, and 15 minutes (or less) to make this dish.This has easily become a staple weekday meal for this busy days since it’s so easy to put together. These noodles can also be made gluten-free by using gluten-free hoisin sauce.

Chewy Rice Noodles in Hoisin Sesame Sauce

tbsp hoisin sauce

tbsp warm water

maple syrup (or other sweetener)

garlic (minced)

sesame seeds

rice

Bokchoy or other vegetables

Soy sauce

Chili garlic sauce

scallion

Place all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside.

Note: it’s important that you have the sauce ready before cooking the noodles since you’ll want to immediately add in the freshly cooked noodles to the sauce right after cooking.

Sauce

Heat a small pot with water. Once it boils, add in the veggies (if using). Cook until tender. Set aside.

In the same pot, cook the noodles until chewy.

The noodles will turn into a solid white colour when ready. Best to try it too to see if it&#039;s cooked enough to your liking! I prefer mine really chewy.

Remove from the pot and then drain out the water.

Immediately transfer the noodles to the sauce.

Noodles and Veg

Mix the noodles well to coat evenly. Feel free to add soy sauce and chili sauce, if you’d like, to taste.

Top with the chopped scallion and the blanched veggies (if using).

Enjoy and slurp away!

To Serve

Learn how to make your own sesame paste at home, using just sesame seeds and sesame oil.

How to Make Sesame Paste

sesame seeds ((225))

sesame oil

Toast sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium low heat until golden and fragrant (careful not to burn them).

Allow the sesame seeds to cool, and place in a food processor or blender with sesame oil.

Grind down to a paste, and continue streaming in sesame oil slowly until a smooth paste forms. You can also add salt to taste, if desired.

Rich, hearty, refreshing, and super easy Cold Sesame Noodles inspired by Chinese and Taiwanese flavours with homemade chili oil.These noodles are inspired by Taiwanese sesame noodles and the cold sesame noodles I had from the restaurant Mian in Las Vegas, that served it with a delicious numbing chili oil. I paired these with my homemade chili oil to create a really rich, hearty, and somewhat refreshing bowl of noodles. You can also enjoy this with my cucumber rose salad (recipe here) to balance off the richness.

Cold Sesame Noodles (Easy Vegan Recipe)

sesame

soy sauce (or more to taste)

tsp dark mushroom soy sauce

Chinese black vinegar

tbsp sesame oil

tbsp sugar

tbsp water

5.5 oz dried wheat noodles

Ice cubes (optional)

Chili Oil

Chopped nuts

onions

rose salad

In a large bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients together. Feel free to adjust according to your desired taste and consistency. Do note that the sauce will slightly thicken once mixed with the cold noodles. Set the sauce aside.

Cook the noodles until very chewy or al dente. I like to slightly undercook mine since the noodles will continue to cook from the residual heat even when the heat has been turned off.

Drain the noodles from the water and run through cold running water to stop the cooking.

Optional: place the noodles in a strainer and add some ice cubes before mixing to get the noodles cold. Drain from any excess water then place in a large bowl.

Pour the sauce over the noodles and mix well. The noodles will still be slightly wet from the water/ice, which will be just right so the noodles aren’t too dry.

Add chili oil, chopped nuts, green onions, and other toppings/protein of choice. Sliced cucumber or radish will be a great addition for that extra crunch and refreshing bite. Mix your noodles until well coated in the sauce, and enjoy!

Storage tip: these noodles are even better colder and I kept mine overnight in the refrigerator. The sauce does thicken in the fridge so you can add a splash of black vinegar or even a drizzle of sesame oil and mix to coat before enjoying.

Think of Mala Ban as a love child between hot pot and spicy garlic noodles. The numbing and spicy sauce tastes good with literally EVERYTHING. The best part about Mala Ban is that everyone can customize their sauce and ingredients, so it is vegetarian-friendly!

MALA BAN (Spicy Mix)

Green onion (thinly sliced)

Roasted Sesame Seeds

sichuan peppercorn (adjust to your spice preference)

Korean Red Chili Flakes (adjust to your spice preference)

sea salt

Homemade Chili Oil

broth

Soy Sauce

Black Vinegar

Prepare by blanching any vegetable, protein, and carbs of your choice. I love napa cabbage, mushrooms, and bok choy for vegetables, fish balls, and thinly sliced meat for protein. For carbs, I usually use instant noodles.

Add garlic, green onion, roasted sesame seeds, ground Sichuan peppercorn, Korean red chili flakes, sea salt, and homemade chili oil in a bowl to make the chili sauce. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil and pour it on top of the ingredients. Mix well

Mix roasted sesame paste, soy sauce, black vinegar, and hot water for the sesame paste. Mix everything till smooth.

Combine the sesame paste and chili sauce, and that's it!

Drizzle the sauce on top of the blanched ingredients, and enjoy!

This Dan Dan-Style Udon recipe is inspired by (as the name suggests) Chinese Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles! I put together the rich and spicy sauce I love from dan dan noodles with chewy Japanese sanuki udon to create an incredibly satisfying recipe. These Dan Dan-Style Udon Noodles are easy to make - just mix the sauce, stir-fry the tofu (which you can do in advance) to make the mince, prepare the udon, and put everything together!

Dan Dan-Style Udon Noodles

oz extra firm tofu

neutral oil

tbsp Shaoxing wine

tbsp soy sauce (adjust

1.5 tsp dark soy sauce

hoisin sauce

tbsp Asian sesame paste (or plain peanut butter)

tsp sugar

tsp sichuan pepper (ground)

tbsp chili oil

servings frozen Sanuki udon

Noodle water

Chili oil

PAN-FRYING THE TOFU: Heat a medium non-stick pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the oil. Once hot, add the crumbled/shredded tofu.

Spread the tofu and leave untouched for 4-5 minutes until it starts to turn golden brown. Flip or mix the tofu to cook the remaining sides.

As the tofu cooks, excess water will start to evaporate and the tofu will begin to resemble minced ‘meat’.

AIR-FRYING THE TOFU: I prefer this for a more hands-off approach. Place the crumbed/shredded tofu on the lined air fryer basket (I use parchment paper).

Leave to air-fry for 12-15 minutes at 350F or until the tofu is golden brown and lightly crisp around the edges. Flip halfway through cooking. Don’t over cook since these can become really tough.

COOKING THE TOFU (AIR-FRYING OR PAN-FRYING)

In the pan, add the shredded/minced tofu. Over medium high heat, add the Shaoxing wine.

Lower the heat then season with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sugar. Mix well to coat the tofu.

Leave the tofu to cook for 3-4 minutes to allow the sugars to cook and caramelize the tofu. Lower the heat as needed to prevent the sugars from burning.

Once cooked and seasoning to your liking, turn off the heat and set the tofu aside.

TOFU ‘MINCE’

Mix the sauce in a large bowl and adjust the seasonings depending on your preferred taste.

SAUCE

For the noodles, you can opt to boil or microwave the udon.

If boiling, heat a large pot of water and add the noodles in when the water starts to boil. Cook according to package instructions or until the udon has separated and is still very chewy. Set aside some noodle water.

If microwaving, place the noodles in a microwave safe bowl. Cover the noodles and microwave for 2-3 minutes or until the noodles are soft and can easily be separated.

Run the noodles through hot running water to remove any excess starch.

NOODLES

Immediately place the noodles in the bowl of sauce. Mix well. Add some noodle water or hot water, if needed, to loosen the noodles.

Top with the tofu ‘mince’, green onions, chopped peanuts, and more chili oil, if desired. Enjoy!

MIX THE SAUCE AND NOODLES

Soooo good!!! My mom is a super picky eater but she begs me to make her your tofu meat replacement recipes all the time :) Better than real meat imo

This time I used vegan mince and I also got my hands on chinese sesame paste. We love this dish sooo much, it's like being tugged in by grandma.
最好 is what I wanted to write above, embarassing :D

I cooked this with peanut butter and loved it very much. I will try it again soon, maybe using vegan mince instead to see how that goes. 四川菜与i好啦！

Such a tasty recipe, and I use the fried tofu part in many other dishes now. Thanks so much 💖

How to make the BEST tahini with just ONE ingredient and a food processor or blender! This sesame paste is creamy, rich, and way better than store-bought!

One Ingredient Tahini in Minutes

oz sesame seeds (hulled)

(optional)

Preheat a wide skillet over low heat, then add the sesame seeds. Cook them, stirring often, until fragrant and golden brown - about 5 minutes.

Transfer the sesame seeds to a high-speed food processor or blender. Blend the seeds into a creamy, smooth paste, pausing the machine to scrape down the sides of the jug as needed. During this process, it will first become a crumbly paste before eventually smoothing out in a creamy consistency.The longer you leave the machine running, the smoother and runnier it will become. I blend mine for around 7-10 minutes, giving the machine a break halfway to avoid overheating.

If you want to add a pinch of salt, do so now, seasoning to taste. Blitz to incorporate.Then, transfer the homemade tahini to a sterilized jar!

Thank you for this recipe!!!! The store bought stuff is not very pleasant tasting. I am always out to produce fresh, clean food.

Wow I didn’t know it’s that simple! Thank you so much, can’t wait to make my own

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/gh9X1w2l.mp4

This homemade Tahini is Vegan, gluten-free, uses just ONE ingredient and takes less than 15 minutes to whip up. Plus, and possibly most importantly, it works out so much cheaper than store-bought versions!

Homemade Tahini / Sesame Paste

Turns out, dan dan noodles work well as a salad, in this recipe adapted from my cookbook “Linger: Salads, Sweets and Stories to Savor” (Knopf, 2025), as the signature punchy sauce made with sesame paste and chile oil transforms nicely into an assertive dressing. Curly and chewy ramen noodles cling perfectly to the sauce, but you could really use any noodle you like, including instant noodles, udon or thick rice noodles. Adapt this salad throughout the year by adding seasonal vegetables such as mushrooms, broccoli, cauliﬂower, sugar snap peas, snow peas, spinach or green beans.

Vegan Dan Dan Salad

Sea salt

baby bok choy (about 4)

ramen noodles

10 ounces fresh or canned corn kernels (or thawed from frozen)

toasted white sesame seeds

scallions, thinly sliced

chile oil

black or rice vinegar

garlic clove, grated

unsweetened nondairy milk (such

NYT Cooking

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/09/25/multimedia/25FD-FALL-PARTYrex5-dandan-salad-tqwf/25FD-FALL-PARTYrex5-dandan-salad-tqwf-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.jpg

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini. Prop Stylist: Sophia Eleni Pappas.

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https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/09/25/multimedia/25FD-FALL-PARTYrex5-dandan-salad-tqwf/25FD-FALL-PARTYrex5-dandan-salad-tqwf-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/09/25/multimedia/25FD-FALL-PARTYrex5-dandan-salad-tqwf/25FD-FALL-PARTYrex5-dandan-salad-tqwf-facebookJumbo.jpg

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. 

Separate the white and green parts of the baby bok choy. Slice the white parts into thick pieces. Place in a colander and rinse well to remove any dirt or sediments. Drain.

Add the ramen to the boiling water and cook until al dente according to packet directions. About 1½ minutes before the noodles are ready, add the white parts of the baby bok choy and the corn. Just before everything is ready, throw in the green bok choy leaves and blanch until they are wilted, about 20 seconds. Drain immediately and refresh under cold running water, then leave to drain again. Let cool while you make the dressing.

Make the dan dan dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the sesame paste, chile oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and garlic until a chunky paste forms. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk and whisk, adding another tablespoon if needed, until the dressing is smooth and pourable. The dressing should be the consistency of cream. (The dressing can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and stored in a sealed jar or airtight container in the fridge. It will thicken up, so add a splash or two of milk or water to loosen it up before adding to the noodles.)

In a large shallow bowl, place the ramen noodles, greens and corn. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Top with the sesame seeds, scallions and a few drops of chile oil. Taste and season with salt if needed. Serve at room temperature.

This was a great dish. The sauce is the star and we 1.5x it because I always like extra sauce. We also used water b/c we don’t have fake milk. Added tofu for protein. Will definitely have this recipe on our rotation!

This was as good as it read. I used mushrooms rather than corn, and water (have no fake milk) to thin the dressing - which to me, really made this work.
I didn't miss the pork at all, and for me, that's saying something. It was easy to scale down for one w/lunch the next day.

Dan Dan Noodle Salad

Unable to find bok choy so I added chopped long stem broccoli and mushrooms, added diced chicken breast and shrimp and turned it into a stir fry in my wok. Made the sauce to the recipe and spooned it over the hot food. Delicious and healthy meal.

Love this, came together easily. No tahini so used cashew butter. Subbed maple syrup for sugar. Doubled the sauce per others’ suggestions and glad I did. Threw in a few handfuls of spinach just before draining, which added yumminess. Will definitely make again!

Not a fan. Way too spicy for me. Sister OK with spice level but not blown away. I did use not as young baby bok choy. Ramen noodles from the package ended up too soft for her. The leaves were tough. Made a huge amount. Tossing the remainder. Not a keeper.

Made this today for the first time.  I don’t like food really hot so I added cayenne mixed in canola oil to taste.  I found this very bland.  I added extra garlic, onion powder, and vinegar.  Topped with seasoned tofu.  Also added less sugar and additional salt.  Not sure where I went wrong but found it lacking.

I added zucchini instead of bok choy and some pre-cooked shrimp that only needed defrosting and heating up in the water for a minute after the noodles are almost done. It is super adjustable and you can throw in or take out whatever you like I used peanut butter because I didn't have any sesame and next time I will try bok choy

This was fantastic! Because of family preferences, we used a different kind of noodle, chickpea flour. But it was great anyway. The sauce was amazing and I will use this sauce again for other things. It would be great on all manner of vegetables and proteins. I used Lao Gan Ma chili crisp and Yamaroku shoyu, which probably went a long way to making it so good. But really, this sauce would be amazing on anything.

This is tasty. I like the sauce concept a lot and it would work in other variations with other dishes. I would note that it didn’t really taste much like the hot Dan Dan noodles we get at the restaurants as it was lacking the Szechuan peppercorn flavor and ground protein, but it is good in its own different way.

I might try to remake it in case I made a mistake but this just didn't taste remotely like any dan dan noodles I've ever had.  I don't know what i did wrong but my sauce really wasn't good--bitter, needed more acidity and more flavor in general. Used tahini and rice vinegar because I didn't have Chinese sesame paste or black vinegar on hand, maybe that was it.  Or maybe the garlic clove I used was too strong.  Also I felt the veggie to noodle ratio was off.  Needs more veg to count as a salad.

This was good, but a little bland. I made half the salad and 2/3 of the dressing and there still wasn’t enough. Will try it again, with more dressing and maybe some sautéed mushrooms for more umami.

I felt I needed the greens doubled or maybe tripled. My husband used the small bok choy. It just wasn’t enough.

This came together in under 10 minutes with pantry and fridge staples. I didn't have corn, but lots of vegetables would be decent substitutes. It was flavorful and filling. I used dry rice Ramen. Truly, the 25 minute prep/cooking time is an overestimate.

A hit with adults and very young children. I left the chili crisp out and recommended it as a condiment on the table. Here's what else I used that varied from the recipe:for the salad,  about 5 1/2 oz of dried ramen noodles and a handful of stringbeans in addition to the corn and bok choy; for the dressing, which I made 1 1/2 times the recipe, I used tahini, tamari, rice vinegar, and water. Next time a little sesame oil before serving. This was good!

I am making this tonight. Will add Parmesean. Just my taste.

So very good!  Quick and easy.  Done in 20 minutes from the time I entered the kitchen. I  added zucchini because it’s still showing up as a daily contribution from my garden.  I will forever have these ingredients on hand in my kitchen.

I really liked this dish! I would double the sauce and add more veggies/ do less noodles next time. I also think crumbled and crisped tofu would be delicious here.

Delicious! I thought I had enough ramen noodles (dried) but I didn't, so I subbed soba (also dried). I just added a pinch of the sugar instead of the full amount and used half the chili oil. Thank goodness I didn't add all the chili oil, it was spicy enough for us. I had a coconut/oat milk half and half and that was perfect for the non-dairy milk. I'll definitely make it again and try to get fresh ramen noodles. I also might add some tofu and mushrooms.

@tanooh like the idea of adding tofu! Thank you.

This one’s a real winner! Totally delicious. You can adapt the dressing to suit your taste. I used chile crisp and Szechuan peppercorns. I kept the proportions as written, but doubled the dressing. I used 8 oz dried (not instant) ramen noodles and found that this amount of dressing was perfect.

@TiCo how did the soba work? Im looking to sub out the ramen totally for dietary reasons.

Because non-dairy milk is better for the planet and kind to animals.

Practically speaking, if this salad is going to be eaten right away, it probably doesn’t make a difference what milk you use. But if the dish will be at room temperature for a while (for example, you’re packing the dish for a lunch that doesn’t get refrigerated or taking it to a potluck where dishes sit out on a table), a non-dairy milk presents less risk of spoilage.

I’ll probably try soy milk for this dish for the protein.

I enjoyed this and appreciated how quick it came together. I doubled the sauce since I’d added extra noodles and veggies but it didn’t need that much. The sauce is delish and I didn’t miss any creaminess from the added milk. Water worked well to thin to the right consistency. It’s a great weeknight meal that provides perfect leftovers for a lunch that doesn’t need to be heated the next day

@Anon-E-Mouse non-dairy milks are not necessarily better, often they contain a number of added ingredients, such as preservatives, oils, fats, emulsifiers and artificial stabilisers. Sometimes, they contain sugars - but not always.

Delicious Sunday family lunch and used leftover sauce to marinate some chicken thighs which I barbecued the next day. Husband and father in law thought it the best chicken ever!

Any particular reason that it needs to be non=dairy milk?

@tan I was wondering how to get some necessary protein into this dish! Thanks

Dan Dan noodle sauce don’t have milk or milk substitute.  You need dry noodles but not ramen noodles.  Then you can use the water from cooking the noodles instead of ”milk”, just like in pasta. Also, if you don’t have sesame paste, you can easily substitute with creamy peanut butter (Skippy or Jif, homogenized peanut butter).

@peter

Yep! That’s why I’ve been making my own oatmilk lately. It doesn’t stay emulsified as well, but I just shake it up when I use it. I’m a blender, whir for about 70 seconds: 1/2 c oats, 2 T maple syrup, 1/4 salt, 1/2 t vanilla, 3 c water. Strain it through a sieve twice, to get rid of most of the solids. 

But for this recipe, I’d probably just use water.

Mazemen, sometimes known as mazesoba or abura soba, is a brothless ramen dish believed to have originated in Nagoya, Japan. Inspired by a punchier and spicier Taiwanese flavor profile, the soup is replaced with an intensely savory sauce. In this vegan take, this sesame paste-based sauce delivers a rich finish, bolstered with umami agents such as miso, soy sauce and chile crisp. Mazemen, which translates to mixed noodles in Japanese, should be tossed before eating, so that the sauce and the toppings distribute evenly through the noodles. While this recipe is vegan, an egg yolk or an onsen tamago (soft-cooked egg) is a common mazemen topping, which falls apart as it is tossed through the noodles, leaving a silky and creamy finish.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/03/20/multimedia/hm-mushroom-mazeman-gqmc/hm-mushroom-mazeman-gqmc-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.jpg

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Top Tags

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The most viewed sesame paste recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine