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Ying’s Best One-Dish Meals : A Review And A Spicy Sesame Pad Thai

I.
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Servings 4 serving

Ingredients
  

For the spicy sesame sauce:

  • 1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic minced ,
  • 2 - 3 green chillies fresh (jalapexf1o/ Serrano), seeded and minced
  • 1/4 cup sesame tahini *
  • 1/4 cup soy milk
  • 2 tbsps palm sugar (or brown / honey)**
  • 1/2 tbsp lemon juice fresh
  • 8 ounces rice noodles wide , fresh or dry ***
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup red peppers julienned
  • 1 cup green onions julienned ****
  • to taste Salt pepper ***** and
  • 2 tbsps sesame seeds toasted , to garnish

Instructions
 

  • To prepare the sauce, heat oil over medium heat
  • Add garlic and green chillies and sautxe9 for 1 minute
  • Add tahini, soy milk, lemon juice and palm sugar
  • Cook, stirring constantly until the sauce is hot and the tahini has melted, 1-2 minutes
  • Remove from heat and let cool
  • Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet
  • Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent sticking. Set aside
  • Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat
  • Add the bell peppers and green onions and stir-fry for 30 seconds
  • Stir in the noodles and sesame sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Transfer to serving dish. Garnish with sesame seeds

Notes

Author’s note:
To save time on a week day, make the sauce in advance. It will last up to a week when refrigerated in a sealed container. This sauce also goes well with other types of noodles.
My notes (see the recipe above):
*I made my own tahini. You can make your own by soaking 1 cup of white sesame seeds in water for about 15 minutes (This reduces the bitterness). Drain the water and then toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat. Do not brown. Cool the seeds and then coarsely powder in a mixer/ blender. Grind/ Blend further to a smooth paste adding about 1/4 cup of oil, bit by bit. Bottle and refrigerate for upto 3 weeks.
**As far as I know, the sauce for Pad Thai should be a balance of salt, sweet, tang and spicy. There didn’t seem to be a “sweet” ingredient in the list so I used palm sugar. You may use brown sugar or honey for the hint of sweet.
***I use cup measurements, and to my mind 8 ounces of flat noodles (I used Thai rice sticks) should be about 2 to 2 1/2 cups (U.S. measurements)
****I used spring onion greens. As mentioned earlier I also added cubed tofu to my Pad Thai.
*__I preferred to use red chilli flakes to pepper.