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Hot Sesame Noodles with Pork

By Matthew Fairman

Published on March 27, 2019

Time

1 hour

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Hot Sesame Noodles with Pork

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti ¼ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil 8 ounces ground pork ¼ cup soy sauce, divided5 teaspoons hoisin sauce, divided1 tablespoon dry sherry ¼ cup tahini 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic sauce 2 teaspoons sugar ¼ cup vegetable oil 6 scallions, white parts sliced thin, green parts sliced thin on bias3 garlic cloves, minced1 teaspoon red pepper flakes ½ teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns, plus extra for serving (optional)

Before You Begin

We like to drizzle Sichuan Chili Oil over the noodles before serving. Tahini is a paste made from toasted sesame seeds; it's used throughout the Middle East.

Instructions

  1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until tender. Drain pasta and return it to pot. Add sesame oil and toss to coat; cover to keep warm.
  2. Cook pork in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes, breaking up meat with wooden spoon. Stir in 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon hoisin, and sherry and cook until all liquid has evaporated and pork is well browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer pork to bowl; set aside.
  3. Whisk 1 cup hot water, tahini, vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, sugar, salt, remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons hoisin together in bowl; set aside. Combine vegetable oil, scallion whites, garlic, pepper flakes, and peppercorns, if using, in now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add oil mixture and tahini mixture to pot with pasta and toss to coat. Transfer pasta to platter and top with pork, scallion greens, and extra peppercorns, if using. Adjust consistency with additional hot water as needed. Serve.
Hot Sesame Noodles with Pork
Photography by Keller + Keller. Styling by Catrine Kelty.

Hot Sesame Noodles with Pork

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Time

1 hour

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti
¼ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
8 ounces ground pork
¼ cup soy sauce, divided
5 teaspoons hoisin sauce, divided
1 tablespoon dry sherry
¼ cup tahini
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
6 scallions, white parts sliced thin, green parts sliced thin on bias
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns, plus extra for serving (optional)

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti
¼ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
8 ounces ground pork
¼ cup soy sauce, divided
5 teaspoons hoisin sauce, divided
1 tablespoon dry sherry
¼ cup tahini
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
6 scallions, white parts sliced thin, green parts sliced thin on bias
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns, plus extra for serving (optional)

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti
¼ teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
8 ounces ground pork
¼ cup soy sauce, divided
5 teaspoons hoisin sauce, divided
1 tablespoon dry sherry
¼ cup tahini
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
6 scallions, white parts sliced thin, green parts sliced thin on bias
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns, plus extra for serving (optional)

Why This Recipe Works

For a truly excellent version of sesame noodles, we took inspiration from Sichuan dan dan noodles. They're rich with chili oil but have a tempered spiciness that's enhanced and balanced with scallion, notes of toasted sesame, meaty soy sauce, bright vinegar, and pleasantly numbing Sichuan peppercorns. Dotted with supersavory bits of pork, they're irresistibly tasty. Here, we used spaghetti as our noodle base, and we cooked it beyond al dente until it was fully tender. For the savory pork, we enhanced the flavor of ground pork with hoisin and soy sauces and a splash of dry sherry (a good sub for Chinese rice wine). A combination of toasted sesame oil and tahini worked great as the heart of our rich sesame sauce, and crushed red pepper flakes, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili-garlic sauce brought the signature heat and pleasant lip-tingling effect. Read more about our recipe development here.

Before You Begin

We like to drizzle Sichuan Chili Oil over the noodles before serving. Tahini is a paste made from toasted sesame seeds; it's used throughout the Middle East.

Instructions

  1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until tender. Drain pasta and return it to pot. Add sesame oil and toss to coat; cover to keep warm.
  2. Cook pork in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes, breaking up meat with wooden spoon. Stir in 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon hoisin, and sherry and cook until all liquid has evaporated and pork is well browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer pork to bowl; set aside.
  3. Whisk 1 cup hot water, tahini, vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, sugar, salt, remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons hoisin together in bowl; set aside. Combine vegetable oil, scallion whites, garlic, pepper flakes, and peppercorns, if using, in now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add oil mixture and tahini mixture to pot with pasta and toss to coat. Transfer pasta to platter and top with pork, scallion greens, and extra peppercorns, if using. Adjust consistency with additional hot water as needed. Serve.

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