Sesame Spinach Noodles

March 24, 2021 by Mandy

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Plated sesame spinach noodles, topped with ground soy sauce chicken and garnished with greens
Yield: 4-5 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 25 minutes

One of our favorite places for all you can eat hotpot in the Bay Area is called Shabuya. In addition to unlimited thin cut meats and seafood, they always had unlimited servings of different kinds of noodles. I loved choosing the vibrant green spinach noodles. Somehow it seems healthier and makes me feel less guilty for eating a lot. 😂

I wanted to try making the spinach noodles from scratch at home and tossed it with a spicy sesame sauce. Here are some of my notes:

Noodles
You can use any type of noodles you like. I made my own noodles from scratch following my recipe from Hakka Board Noodles and replaced the plain water with blended and strained spinach water. I used my kitchenaid mixer and fettucine attachment to make the noodles. If you don't have one, you can mix it by hand. After letting the dough rest for 30 minutes, flatten it with a rolling pin and cut it into long strands.

Protein
I chose to use ground chicken this time, typically ground pork is used in Dan Dan Sesame noodles. You can also use tofu instead.

Sesame Sauce
I used Tahini which is a thick sesame paste. You can purchase Tahini from most supermarkets. Alternatively, you can use chunky peanut butter.

Sichuan Peppercorns
This numbing spice is what makes this sesame sauce so addictive! I was able to find the spices at Whole Foods. I toasted the spices in a small pan and added it to the sauce.

Ingredients

Noodles
  • See the Hakka Board Noodles recipe for the ingredients list (you can substitute with your favorite pre-packaged noodles, which reduces prep time to 15 minutes)
Soy Sauce Chicken
  • 1 lb of ground chicken or pork
  • 1 bulb of shallot (thinly sliced)
  • 2 tbsp of soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp of dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp of sesame oil
  • 1 tsp of sugar
  • 1/4 cup of water
Sesame Sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp of toasted Sichuan peppercorns with 1/2 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp red chili oil of your choice, or mix 1/2 tbsp red chili flakes with 2 tbsp hot oil
  • 1/4 cup hot water
  • 4 tbsp tahini or chunky peanut butter
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp black vinegar
  • 1 tsp sugar
Garnish
  • Cucumber slices
  • Sliced green onions

Directions



You can find the instructions for making the dough noodles from scratch in the "To Make the Noodles" section of the Hakka Board Noodles recipe. However, in this spinach version, rather than being made using 2/3 cup (150mL) of plain water, the water is instead blended with a handful of spinach and strained to add to the dough mixture.


Recipe
Hakka Board Noodles (Ban Mian / 板面)
Bowl full of rice, topped with braised pork and steamed veggies


Heat up 1 tbsp of oil on medium heat and saute the thinly sliced shallots.
Once the shallots turn golden brown, reserve some on the side for noodle garnish.
Add 1 lb of ground chicken and saute until mostly browned.
Add 2 tbsp of Shaoxing cooking wine.
When the cooking wine has mostly evaporated, add 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tbsp of dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp of oyster sauce, and 1 tsp of sugar. Mix well.
Once the sauces have mostly evaporated, add 1/4 cup of water.
Let it simmer down until most of the liquid has evaporated.



In a big bowl, mix 4 tbsp of tahini with 1/4 cup hot water until it is well incorporated. Add the rest of the sesame sauce ingredients (1/2 tbsp toasted sichuan peppercorns, 2 tbsp red chili oil, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp black vinegar, 1 tsp sugar).
Toss the noodles well in the sauce.
Top with ground chicken and green onions.