The noodles are chewy and firm, with a bold, balanced flavor that brings together numbing spice, savory saltiness, and a touch of sweetness—every note is perfectly present.
Sichuan Cold Noodles with Chili Oil, though called "spicy and numbing," deliver more than just heat—they offer a harmonious blend of sweet, savory, and tingling flavors that linger on the palate. The secret lies entirely in the sauce. While it requires a handful of small seasonings, the result is so addictive you'll crave more after every bite.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
noodles, as needed
For this cold noodle dish, it's common to use store-bought noodles, but if you prefer not to, it's best to use a pasta machine—hand-rolled noodles are too soft and not thin enough, resulting in a poor texture.
Additional Ingredients
Cucumber and bean sprouts, as needed
a sauce made with 3 tablespoons sesame paste, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder, 2 tablespoons chili oil, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil, whisked together until smooth
70 g (about 2.5 oz) sesame paste
5 g fermented rice wine (or Shaoxing wine)
15 g rice vinegar (about 1 tablespoon)
soy sauce 25 g (about 2 tablespoons)
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) white sugar
30 g (about 2 tablespoons) water
5 g each minced ginger and garlic
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) sesame oil
Roasted crushed peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, and Sichuan pepper powder - a small amount of each
Sichuan chili oil to taste
Pour the chili flakes with oil heated to about 70% hot (350°F/175°C), then let it steep overnight to make chili oil.
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
Step 1: Wash and julienne the cucumber, then pick over and rinse the bean sprouts (Image 2). Cook the noodles until done, rinse under cold water, then toss with a little cooked oil and set aside.
*If eating immediately, the noodles don't need to be tossed with oil. The oil used for tossing the noodles must be cooked oil—oil that has been heated and then cooled—as raw oil has an off-flavor. If preparing cooked oil is inconvenient, a small amount of sesame oil can be used instead.
To make the sauce, combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well blended.
Step 1: In a bowl, first add sesame paste and loosen it with fermented rice wine (see Figure 3), then stir in rice vinegar (Figure 4). Once smooth, add soy sauce and sugar, continuing to stir (Figure 5). Thin with water until silky, then mix in minced ginger and garlic (Figure 6). Stir in sesame oil (Figure 7), and finally add a small amount of crushed roasted peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, and ground Sichuan pepper, mixing well (Figure 8).
*Dry-fry fresh Sichuan peppercorns in a hot pan over low heat for a few minutes, let them cool completely, then roll them into a fine powder with a rolling pin to make ground Sichuan pepper.
*When making the sauce, add the seasonings step by step in order—don't mix up the sequence; the given amounts create the base flavor, which you can adjust to taste.
*After adding each liquid seasoning, stir until smooth before adding the next one.
*Do not pour all the liquid seasonings into the bowl at once, as this will prevent the sesame paste from achieving a smooth consistency. Add a little at a time, stirring well after each addition before adding more—this is essential.
Pour the prepared sauce over the noodles.
Step 3: Place the noodles in a bowl, arrange the cucumber and bean sprouts on top, drizzle with an appropriate amount of sauce, then drizzle with chili oil, and it's ready to serve!
*It's best not to mix the chili oil with the sauce, as their flavors can easily blend together, causing the chili oil to lose its aroma and the sauce's taste to be compromised.
Take it to the next level
Actually, the sauce used here is quite similar to the "strange-flavor sauce" found in Sichuan cuisine. When restaurants prepare this sauce, they typically don't use only sesame paste; they also add some peanut butter to make the flavor smoother. Since most pure sesame pastes have a slight bitterness and astringency that some people find off-putting, incorporating peanut butter improves the texture and enhances the aroma. You can give it a try as well.