Cold Sesame Noodles With Cucumber, Corn and Basil

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Updated June 10, 2024

Cold Sesame Noodles With Cucumber, Corn and Basil — Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.

Total Time: 25 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4(824)
Notes: Read community notes

For a summertime update on a beloved Chinese dish, cold sesame noodles are freshened up with crisp cucumbers, raw corn and aromatic basil. The minimalism of the three-ingredient sesame dressing belies its complex flavor. It brings together three flavor-dense condiments: chile crisp, sesame oil and sesame paste. Available from Asian grocery stores (or online), Chinese or Japanese sesame paste is similar to tahini. It is made from toasted sesame seeds, so the finish is darker, nuttier and stronger. If you can’t get a hold of sesame paste, substitute with smooth peanut butter or tahini. The noodle choice here is flexible to make space for those with dietary restrictions; use any type of thick rice or wheat noodle.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

Salt
10ounces dried thick rice or wheat noodles
4Persian cucumbers (about 11 ounces)
¼cup Chinese or Japanese sesame paste or tahini
4teaspoons toasted sesame oil
4 to 6teaspoons chile crisp (to your taste), plus more for serving
2ears corn, kernels removed (about 2 cups of kernels)
Toasted white sesame seeds, to serve
Handful of basil leaves

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to packet instructions until al dente. Drain, refresh under cold water and drain again.
Step 2
Halve cucumbers lengthwise. Using a small spoon, scrape out the seeds and discard. Cut cucumber into thin strips.
Step 3
Make the sesame sauce: Place the sesame paste into a bowl and add the sesame oil and chile crisp. Add ¼ cup of water and whisk until smooth and pourable. If the sauce is too thick, add another splash of water, until the sauce feels loose enough to coat the noodles. (The sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead, but it will thicken up over time. To loosen it up, whisk with a tablespoon or two of water.)
Step 4
Place the noodles into a large bowl and add the sesame sauce, cucumber and corn. Toss to coat the noodles.
Step 5
To serve, top with sesame seeds, basil leaves and a few drops of chile crisp.

Ratings

4 out of 5

824 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Sejo10 months ago

Tried it and it’s very underwhelming. Need more acidity, more sweetness, and a lot more flavor…..

Daphne10 months ago

Added soy sauce Sugar Fish sauce

carena10 months ago

Raw corn? Or cooked?

CQ10 months ago

It's a crispy oniony spicy oily condiment. You can follow the link in the recipe to make your own, or find it at Trader Joe's if you have one in your area.

FQ10 months ago

Found this a bit bland so added lime juice, minced ginger, ponzu sauce and some mint and cilantro. Very tasty. Problem with corn and long noodles is that all the corn ends up at the bottom of your bowl ….

zooey10 months ago

Very good! Easy, simple, light, refreshing. I added green onion, yellow bell pepper, and some other veggies that needed to get eaten in my fridge.

chicagoan10 months ago

I second the comment about needing salt. A teaspoon of soy sauce made a big difference.

Becca10 months ago

Heeded warnings of blandness. Added soy sauce, a small amount of rice vinegar and honey to the dressing and made about 1.5x the listed recipe. Added a bell pepper, two scallions, more basil and an equal amount of mint. Also roasted the corn on the grill to get some char. We really enjoyed it as jazzed up!

Jane10 months ago

In the list of ingredients chile crisp is underlined, click on it and you are taken to the recipe for chile crisp.

moi10 months ago

Needs salt and spice. Ridiculously bland as it currently stands.

Lisa10 months ago

this recipe is definitely missing salt, add a bunch

Max Alexander, Rome10 months ago

Raw corn. Corn doesn't really need cooking.

Karen10 months ago

If it doesn't say to cook the corn, don't cook it. Not odd.

Mary K20 hours ago

Taking the advice of a previous comment, I added a little dark soy sauce (1 teaspoon), rice wine vinegar (1 teaspoon) and some fresh mint — and (1 teaspoon) lime juice. The fresh mint and basil definitely make the dish sing. Perfect for a warm summer night.

Jess K2 days ago

I thought this was great and plan to make it again throughout the Summer! I suppose some of the flavor depends on what brand of chili crisp you buy…I did add a little soy sauce. Great for your vegan friends.

AK6 days ago

This recipe seemed to be missing something? Not enough salt. I wonder if substituting soy sauce instead of using water would fix the problem.

bethany1 week ago

Tried this and it was super bland unfortunately

Christy1 week ago

Totally gross, needed salt, really dissapointing. I don't want to have to 'tweak' the recipe myself!

CH1 week ago

I thought this was just ok, but my teens loved it. As other have said- needs something salty- I added soy sauce and it helped. Also would have benefited from some green onions, but I didn’t have any on hand. I’m not a huge spice fan, so only used about half the chili crisp, and let my spice loving kids add more on their own.

LGK1 week ago

Really good base for a salad that hits all the right spots on a hot summer day! I added some soy sauce, scallions, and edamame, but the base salad is really quite refreshing. Yes, it needs salt. But soy sauce goes a long way towards fixing that!

Mia1 week ago

Asian sesame paste is a little different than tahini...stronger flavor made from toasted seeds. For those who say it's bland, chili crisp recipes can vary. The one I use is very spicy!

sammalott1 week ago

This was a good summer dish but definitely tweak the sauce, it’s pretty bland. I added some soy sauce and a little honey and it balanced it out much better!

NanB1 week ago

Delicious. I quick sautéed some shrimp in oil with ginger and garlic and a dash of soy, deglazed pan with Mirian and served on top of the noodles. Fabulous, easy, light dinner for a hot summer evening

Adriana1 week ago

Made as specified and definitely agree with others in needing more salt and spice. Also, the tahini being oil based did not do well when I added the water to make it pourable. It actually did the opposite and kind of seized up.

Todd1 week ago

Cold noodles is just not a genre I can support. Automatically less flavor.

Mary2 weeks ago

Corn added a weird sweet note. Would use air fried tofu or daikon and edomami instead. Second the challenge of incorporating these vegie bits into the noodles. They tend to sink to the bottom.

sg2 weeks ago

This is a classic Asian dishes and like some comments here indicated, the published steps missing some ingredients to bring the flavor profile of this summer dish. Sesame paste can added soy sauce, pinch of sugar, add your favorite hot sauce, or Korean hot sauce, most importantly add some garlic.

kandis o3 weeks ago

Added about 1/4 cup of coconut aminos (soy sauce alternative), 1/8 cup rice vinegar, and a few tbsps more of the sesame oil. Added garlic and ginger paste and extra basil. Salted thoroughly and still added a bit more salt at the dinner table. The noodles and tahini suck up the salt, don’t be shy! Great base recipe so be creative and add more elements for better flavor!

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