Takeout-Style Sesame Noodles Recipe • 5★ • 10 min

Recipe from Shorty Tang and Ed Schoenfeld

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Updated Feb. 16, 2026

Noodles dressed with sesame are popular in many parts of China, but this particular style, made with peanut butter and served cold, became a Chinese-American staple in the United States in the 1970s. The family of Shorty Tang — an ambitious restaurateur who emigrated from Sichuan to Taipei to New York — firmly believes that he invented the dish and still serve it at Hwa Yuan, the restaurant he opened in 1967 in Manhattan’s Chinatown. They have never divulged the exact recipe; this is our own lush but refreshing version. —Sam Sifton

Featured in: Cold Sesame Noodles: Without the Wait for Takeout

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1pound noodles, frozen or (preferably) fresh

2tablespoons sesame oil, plus a splash

2tablespoons sesame paste (preferably Chinese)

1tablespoon smooth peanut butter

1tablespoon finely grated ginger

2teaspoons chile-garlic paste, chile crisp or chile oil, or to taste

Half a cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into ⅛-inch by ⅛-inch by 2-inch sticks

¼cup chopped roasted peanuts

647 calories; 23 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 90 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 797 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Step 1Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes. They should retain a hint of chewiness.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes. They should retain a hint of chewiness.

Step 2Drain noodles, rinse with cold water, drain again and toss with a splash of sesame oil.

Drain noodles, rinse with cold water, drain again and toss with a splash of sesame oil.

Step 3In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil, the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame paste, peanut butter, sugar, ginger, garlic and chile-garlic paste.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil, the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame paste, peanut butter, sugar, ginger, garlic and chile-garlic paste.

Step 4Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss.

Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss.

Step 5Transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with cucumber and peanuts.

Transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with cucumber and peanuts.

The Chinese sesame paste called for here is made of toasted sesame seeds; it is not the same as tahini, the Middle Eastern paste made of plain, untoasted sesame. But you could use tahini in a pinch. You need only add a little toasted sesame oil to compensate for flavor, and perhaps some peanut butter to keep the sauce emulsified.

I learned how to make a version of this from a Chinese native years ago before Chinese ingredients were widely available. You can get a similar "feel" by substituting thick (or standard) spaghetti for Chinese noodles, substituting toasted sesame oil for the paste (but don't omit the p'nut butter, smooth or crunchy), adding cayenne pepper if you don't have chili-garlic paste, and using any thin, crunchy vegetables to garnish, including beansprouts, fresh cilantro, etc.

I have made this recipe scores of times over the years, often for a crowd. I usually multiply the sauce recipe many times (I use a stick blender), and add a fairly minimal amount of the sauce to the noodles when they're still warm (I like DeCecco linguine -- I don't have a favorite Asian brand, and Italian pasta can always be reliably cooked to the proper tooth). Chill the undersauced noodles until you are ready to serve, and then mix in as much extra sauce as you need -- no dryness!

This is tasty, but note that it's not 1 lb dried noodles - the recipe says fresh or frozen, but those are hard to find where I am, so just a note for those of us working from dry. I used 1 lb dried noodles and wound up with enough noodles to feed an army.

I followed one recommendation (make 2x the sauce) and rejected another (don't use 1 lbs. of dried noodles) and that combination worked great. I think every recipe I've attempted for sesame noodles end up slightly dry and light on flavor, but doubling the sauce on this one and using the full pound of dried noodles worked out great (could even have bumped up with even a little more sauce)

Excellent except Obviously double sauce, or halve noodles Skip sugar, irrelevant, adds nothing for us Skip chile sauce and simply use red pepper flakes or ground, to taste. (The sauce simply confuses the other excellent flavors).

Delicious addition to rotation. Next time will combat sour note by using correct sesame paste instead of tahini & making sauce day before per commenter Maggie's suggestion. Good calls: 1) Tripled the sauce for double the fresh udon noodles. 2) Added lots of veggies: roasted eggplant sticks (in oil & smidge of pomegranate syrup); carrots & red pepper in matchsticks; ~1 lb each snow peas, mung beans separately blanched & shocked. 3) Served warm by heating the sauce.

Shorty Tang, Ed Schoenfeld

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9558-takeout-style-sesame-noodles