For the best sesame noodles, pare down to the basics

I have never understood why recipes that use sesame noodles always call for peanut butter. Sure, it’s widely available, but not only are peanuts problematic from an allergy perspective, but they also interfere with the pure flavor you can get from a sesame-only sauce made from tahini. And, even in times of grocery shortages, it isn’t terribly difficult to get your hands on a jar of tahini — Kroger offers it, affordably, under its own house label. Should you struggle to find tahini on your next shopping trip, it’s worth holding out on this recipe until you can find it; the result is an ultra-quick and deeply satisfying twist on a pantry pasta that is easy to customize.

I like to base the dish around chewy rice noodles instead of a wheat-based pasta. No matter the size or shape, rice noodles offer a pleasing textural contrast to the rich sauce, and they cook faster than wheat noodles. My preference is for thick, straight-cut noodles (the common grocery store brand A Taste of Thai calls them “linguine”), but you can certainly use whatever style you can find. Cooking times will vary depending on the size; boil the noodles until they are just tender enough to bite through, and then quickly drain and rinse in cold water to stop any additional cooking.

While the noodles are cooking, stir together the sauce. Along with the tahini, you’ll need soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, plus seasoned rice vinegar for both sweetness and acidity. (If you don’t have the seasoned variety of vinegar, you can substitute plain rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar mixed with a teaspoon of sugar; both brown and white granulated will work fine.) The final sauce addition is minced or grated fresh ginger, but if you can’t get your hands on a fresh knob, a tablespoon of ginger paste squeezed from a tube is a good substitute. Powdered ginger will also work, but you will want to cut the amount in half.