Recipe Station

Simple Sesame and Garlic Noodles

• 1/2large cucumber
• 4tablespoons sesame oil, divided
• 5garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3Thai bird chiles
• 180grams ramen or soba noodles
• 1large chunk of ginger, finely shredded or chopped
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2lime
• 1/2teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

1. To begin, bring a large pot of water to boil. While the water is warming up, finely slice the cucumber into thin matchsticks.
2. Next, heat 3 tablespoons of sesame oil in a non-stick pan. Once the sesame oil is toasting (you will get that lovely fragrant sesame smell) add your garlic and chiles. The water should be boiling away, so chuck your noodles in and keep a close eye on them — ramen can take as little as 4 minutes to cook.
3. Drain the noodles, then toss them in with the garlic and chile, and add the diced ginger. Mix so that the sesame-garlic oil is evenly spread throughout the noodles, and add a bit more sesame oil if necessary (I found that it was necessary at this point). Season generously with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and hit the noodles with a squeeze of lime. I like serving these noodles slightly chilled/below room temperature, so I put them in the fridge to cool for about 20 minutes before serving.
4. Just before serving, remove the noodles from the fridge, and top with the cucumber slices as well as the toasted sesame seeds. Done! Super simple, and a really nice addition to any asian-inspired meal.

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