Sesame Noodle Salad

Basic Salad Ingredients

1 fusilli, thin spaghetti, linguine or other pasta (I generally use  Rao's fusilli)

¼ c sesame oil or for a milder salad 2 T sesame oil plus 2 T olive oil (I usually do the mix)
2 T fresh ginger, grated
3 T soy sauce or tamari
Scallions/chives
¼ c toasted sesame seeds


Mix: sesame oil, olive oil if using, ginger and tamari in a large bowl.

Cook pasta until al dente, drain and put in bowl with dressing and toss; additional olive/sesame oil may be added to taste if pasta requires more dressing.

Toss in sesame seeds just before serving and garnish with chopped chives or green scallions.

VARIATIONS:

Add any/all of the following to dressed pasta; additional dressing may be required depending on the amount of “variations” added.

Asparagus: cook ~2 minutes if small, ~3 minutes if larger, let sit 1 minute, then rinse in cold water until cool. Dry and and cut in 2” lengths or leave whole and arrange around the salad.

Red sweet pepper: raw, sliced fine in 2” strips

Raw snap peas, blanched snow peas, or shelled fresh peas

½ c chopped watercress leaves, whole watercress for garnish

Poached chicken, cut in small pieces
  or 
Cooked shrimp, if using frozen cooked shrimp, thaw overnight in the refrigerator then dry throughly with a paper  towel before adding to the salad

Add any/all of the following to the dressing:

1 t minced garlic

Hot chili oil to taste (or serve as accompaniment to the salad)

Substitute 1 t - 1T of hot sesame oil for plain sesame oil in dressing

September 3, 2026, Not in the mood for pasta, and having a corn tomato, basil (topped with a bit of thick balsamic vinegar) salad to pair, I tossed 10 21-25 size cold cooked shrimp, prepared as above, with 2-3 T of dressing and 2 sliced scallions then topped with toasted sesame seeds. Delicious! And a great cold meal for a hot night.

Revised 5/30/2017

Reviewed 9/3/2026