Szechuan Spicy Sesame Noodles with Pickled Shallots

I used to make these noodles at a market I worked at in Brookline, MA after graduating from school a few years ago.  They’re perhaps the perfect accompaniment to a roll of sushi, but of course are also great with some fish or protein of your choice.  I decided to refresh my memory on the recipe prior to making the dish and discovered that one of the best recipes I found was in the Barefoot Contessa cookbook, which my Sis Elise gave us a while back.

While I don’t always like what the ‘Contessa’ is up to, I do like this recipe, especially some of the elements she uses in her sauce for the noodles.  It emphasizes Tahini and peanut butter, which really add a great creaminess to the dish.  Liking my Szechuan noodles a little on the spicy side, I also added in a bit more Sriracha to the sauce, which really helped with the overall seasoning of the dish.

I would recommend serving these noodles cold, meaning let them rest for a while and cool before serving - they’ll (obviously) be hot after they’re cooked.  Cold noodles in Korean cuisine were served as a sort of after course when I was in Seoul, almost as a sort of refreshing after thought to the protein and vegetables served prior.  These turned out really well, here’s how it went down:

For the Sauce (I’m estimating the amounts here…I recommend you put the sauce together, then adjust from there…:

3 cloves garlic - peeled
1/4 cup fresh ginger - peeled and chopped (fine dice if not using a food processor)
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. Sriracha sauce (adjust this to your own spice taste)
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (sugar free kind preferred)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sesame tahini
Black pepper

Before you start, put on a pot of water to boil for the noodles.  If you’re using a food processor, just put all of the sauce ingredients above in the machine and combine until the sauce is smooth.  If you’re not using one, just chop the garlic and ginger finely and whisk the rest of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

For the Rest of the dish:

1 medium sized head of broccoli, plus stems (broccoli stems are awesome) - rough chop (see pic)
1 red bell pepper - sliced lengthwise very thin
1 yellow or orange bell pepper - sliced lengthwise very thin
1 large carrot - shredded in a box grater
3 scallions - cut small on the bias
3 medium/large shallots - sliced thin in half
1 lb. (standard box) vermicelli or thin spaghetti
few tsp. white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar (granulated)