Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles with Frozen Cucumber & Egg

Cold peanut sesame noodles are a whole family of dishes across China and Korea: a nutty, savoury-sweet sauce clinging to chewy noodles, usually finished with something crunchy and something fresh. This version skips the usual from-scratch sauce-making by starting with Chilli Chan's Sesame Soy knife-cut noodles, so the sachet already does the nutty groundwork, then builds heat with gochujang and crunch with a cucumber you froze the night before. Twenty minutes, most of it hands-off.

Prep 10 min   Cook 10 min   Total 20 min   Serves 2   Heat 🌶 2/5

Jump to

• What spicy peanut sesame noodles actually are
• The noodle shortcut
• What you need
• The method
• Vegan and vegetarian version
• Hard-to-find ingredients and what to use instead
• What goes wrong
• FAQs

What spicy peanut sesame noodles actually are

Cold, saucy noodles built on peanut and sesame show up across East Asia under different names: liangmian in China, bibim guksu in Korea, cold sesame noodles on Chinese-American menus. The common thread is a rich, savoury-sweet sauce built on a nutty paste and soy, served at room temperature or chilled, with something crunchy and something fresh on top.

This version leans Korean-Taiwanese. Gochujang stands in for chilli oil, peanut butter stands in for sesame paste, and Chilli Chan's Sesame Soy knife-cut noodles do double duty as both the noodle and half the sauce. The frozen cucumber isn't traditional to any of these, it's just a good idea that makes the bowl colder and crunchier than a normal fridge cucumber ever could.

The noodle shortcut

A proper bowl of cold sesame noodles usually means building a sauce from scratch, sesame paste, soy, vinegar, sugar, all balanced by hand. Fine on a lazy Sunday, a lot to ask on a Tuesday.

Chilli Chan's Sesame Soy knife-cut noodles come with a real sesame soy sauce sachet in the pack, not a flavour powder, so it's already doing the nutty, savoury groundwork a good cold noodle sauce needs. All you're adding is peanut butter for body, gochujang for heat, and a little sugar and sesame oil to round it out.

The noodle itself matters too. Knife-cut noodles are thick and rough-cut, so they hold onto a clingy sauce instead of letting it slide off, which matters even more in a cold dish where there's no residual heat helping things stick.

What you need

The noodles

• 1 pack Chilli Chan's Sesame & Soy Knife-Cut Noodles, sachet included

The sauce

• 1 tbsp Oh Na Mi Seaweed Soy Sauce
• ½ tbsp Oh Na Mi Gochujang
• 1 tbsp peanut butter, smooth
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar

To finish

• 1 egg
• 1 cucumber, frozen overnight
• A handful of chives, chopped
• Sesame seeds

The method

1. Freeze the cucumber the night before. Whole, unpeeled, straight into the freezer. This is the only step that needs planning ahead.
2. Boil the egg for 10 minutes. You want it firm enough to hold together once shaved. Cool in cold water, then peel.
3. Build the sauce in the serving bowl. Whisk the seaweed soy sauce, gochujang, peanut butter, sesame oil, sugar and the noodle sachet together until smooth and glossy.
4. Cook the noodles for 3 minutes. Drain well and toss straight into the sauce while hot, so it coats every strand evenly.
5. Shave the cucumber and egg on top. A vegetable peeler or the coarse side of a box grater works for both.
6. Finish and eat immediately. Chives, sesame seeds, and get to it while the cucumber's still icy. That contrast is the whole point.

Vegan and vegetarian version

This is vegetarian as written and easy to make vegan. Leave off the egg, or swap in cubed silken tofu or avocado for a similar richness on top. Double check your gochujang and peanut butter brands don't sneak in honey or fish sauce, some Korean pantry brands add a splash of either. Oh Na Mi's seaweed soy sauce and gochujang are both plant-based, so the sauce itself is already sorted.

Hard-to-find ingredients, and what to use instead

Where to find the specialist bits in Europe: Oh Na Mi ships directly via their own site, and gochujang and Korean soy sauces are increasingly common in the world food aisle of larger supermarkets and Asian grocers across NL, DE and the UK.

What goes wrong

• Shaving the cucumber too early. It turns to a puddle within minutes. Do this step last, right before serving.
• Under-boiling the egg. Less than 10 minutes and it won't hold together when you shave it.
• Skipping the sugar. Without it, the gochujang tastes flat and one-note instead of rounded.
• Tossing cold noodles into the sauce. Warm noodles coat evenly, cold ones clump.
• Pouring the sauce ingredients straight over the noodles instead of whisking first. You end up with pockets of pure peanut butter rather than an even coat.

FAQs

What are spicy peanut sesame noodles?

A cold or room-temperature noodle dish tossed in a nutty, savoury-sweet sauce, popular across China and Korea under different names. This version uses gochujang for heat and Chilli Chan's Sesame Soy noodles to shortcut the sauce-making.

Are these noodles vegan?

Vegetarian as written. Leave off the egg and double check your gochujang and peanut butter brands to make it fully vegan, since Oh Na Mi's seaweed soy sauce and gochujang are both plant-based.

How spicy is this?

About a 2 out of 5, more warm than fierce, since the peanut butter and sugar mellow the gochujang. Add extra gochujang or a spoon of Chilli Chan's Crispy Chilli Oil if you want more heat.

Do I really need to freeze the cucumber?

Yes. It's the trick that makes this bowl work. Freezing it overnight lets you shave it into icy, snow-like ribbons that stay crunchy against the warm noodles, instead of the soft, watery texture you get from slicing a fridge-cold cucumber.

Can I make this ahead of time?

Make the sauce and boil the egg up to a day ahead and keep both in the fridge. Cook the noodles fresh and shave the cucumber right before serving so nothing goes soft.

What can I use instead of gochujang?

Sriracha or another chilli paste plus a little miso gets you close. Start with less than the recipe calls for, since chilli pastes vary a lot in heat and saltiness.

Keep reading

• 10-minute chilli oil noodles, the faster weeknight version
• Creamy Sesame & Soy Chilli Oil Infused Noodles
• Knife-cut noodles: a complete guide to Guan Miao
• Chilli oil eggs, 4 ways, for more ways to use that leftover egg method

Made it? Tag us. Bonus points for the shaving shot.