The brilliance and versatility of convenience stores in Taiwan is truly unmatched. While our local 7/11’s in the states have soggy taquitos, broken slurpee machines, and rubbery hotdogs, the 7/11’s of Taiwan have chewy tea-infused eggs, fancy bento boxes, and loaves of bread that look buoyant as clouds. They have the silkiest of yogurts and the most luxurious assortment of soy, rice, and nut milks among anything you ever might need.

During my summers at my waipo’s apartment in Taipei, lunches and late-night snacks were filled with cold sesame noodles. Those yellow egg noodles always had the perfect bite, so fresh you could practically taste the gluten. They didn’t stick together as much as you would think precooked noodles would. Small cavities in the plastic packaging held meticulously julienned cucumbers and carrots, which sublimely cut through the nuttiness and saltiness of the sesame paste and soy-based sauce packets.

Those noodles were always slurped and gone in the span of 5 minutes. They satisfied every corner of our appetites while cutting us two bites short so we craved the dish continuously even when we were stuffed and our stomachs bloated. 

I’ve attempted to recreate this simple but gratifying dish with a twist. Instead of the regular white sesame seeds, I use a blend of both white and black for a nutty flavor and the vibrant black color. I’ve added kewpie mayo for its intense creaminess and furu, or fermented tofu, for the classic pungent kick.

The history of cold sesame noodles is mostly unknown, or difficult to scope out online at least. Families, restaurants, and bloggers use a variety of different ingredients and claim that their recipe is the most authentic or more delectable. Some add peanut butter and orange juice and use angel hair pasta, while others are keen on sticking to the traditional Chinese egg noodles. The dish itself is very versatile and is probably popular in my household because the simple ingredients it requires are almost always stocked in our pantry.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

fresh thin egg or wheat noodles

1/4 cup sesame paste

3 tablespoons black sesame paste

1 + 1/2 teaspoon furu

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon kewpie mayo

1-inch ginger, grated (saving some for garnish)

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 small cucumber, deseeded and chopped into matchsticks for garnish

chopped scallions for garnish

toasted black/white sesame seeds for garnish

chopped peanuts for garnish

Preparation

1. Cook the noodles according to packaging instructions. Place in an ice bath and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix both sesame pastes and furu together.* Whisk in the water, soy milk, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Add the kewpie mayo, ginger, and garlic and whisk until smooth.

3. Plate the noodles and drizzle sauce over. Garnish with cucumbers, scallions, ginger, sesame seeds, and peanuts.

Notes

• The sesame pastes and furu may seem clumpy and hard to mix at first but just keep going until they come together. The water will help it all emulsify.