Name: Cold Sichuan noodles liangmian
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients: 400 g chinese noodles; 1 tablespoon sesame oil; 3 l water; 1 teaspoon salt; 3 tablespoons chilli oil; 2 tablespoons tahini; 3 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 tablespoons rice vinegar; 1 teaspoon sichuan pepper; 1 teaspoon sugar; 3 cloves garlic; 1 pc salad cucumber; 40 g peanuts; 2 pcs spring onion; sesame seeds; coriander

Step by step process

Boiling and chilling the noodles

1
For the Sichuan noodles, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the wheat noodles. Cook them according to the package, usually 4 to 5 minutes, so they stay springy and do not turn mushy.
2
Drain the cooked noodles in a colander and rinse them right away under cold running water until they are completely cool. The cold shower stops the cooking and keeps the noodles firm.
3
Transfer the drained noodles to a bowl, drizzle with sesame oil and toss so they do not stick together. Let them rest while you make the sauce.
TIP:
Add sesame oil at the end of cooking or to finished dishes to preserve its aroma and flavor, which would be lost through heat treatment.

Making the Sichuan sauce

4
Toast the Sichuan pepper in a dry pan briefly until fragrant, then grind it in a mortar into a coarse powder. This is what gives the dish its signature tingle on the tongue.
5
In a bowl, whisk the tahini with the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar. Keep whisking until the paste loosens and turns into a smooth brown sauce.
TIP:
Tahini typically seizes up after adding lemon juice or garlic. Add cold water one tablespoon at a time and whisk, hot water will cause clumping. The sauce will turn smooth and creamy.
6
Stir in the pressed garlic, the chili oil with its sediment and the ground Sichuan pepper. Taste the sauce and adjust with vinegar or sugar so it is spicy, sour and slightly sweet.

Tossing and serving

7
Grate the cucumber coarsely or cut it into thin matchsticks. Chop the peanuts and slice the spring onion into rounds.
8
Pour the sauce over the chilled noodles and toss thoroughly so every strand is coated. Divide them among bowls.
9
Top the cold noodles with cucumber, peanuts, spring onion, sesame and cilantro. Serve right away while they are nicely chilled.

More tips:

If you can get real chinkiang black vinegar, use it instead of rice vinegar. It gives the sauce a deeper, gently malty flavor typical of Sichuan cooking.

Prepare the noodles and the sauce ahead and store them separately in the fridge. Toss them together only just before serving, or the noodles will soak up the sauce and go soft.

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