Gu Grocery's Sesame Citrus Cold Noodles
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Jessica Wang, founder of soon-to-open Chinatown market and cafe Gu Grocery and the Picklé pickling workshops, makes a version of her mom’s sesame cold noodles — amping up the flavor with pickled mustard-green juice and the zing of orange juice and zest.
Wang makes pickled Chinese mustard greens by fermenting them in a 5% salt brine — that means dissolving 5 grams of salt in every 100 grams of water and completely submerging the chopped greens (use a pickling weight) in the brine in a covered container. Check the pickles after a few days for desired tanginess.
Prepared pickled mustard greens also are available at Chinese markets; Wang notes that you might have to adjust for the saltiness in this recipe by reducing the amount of soy sauce. Taste as necessary for desired seasoning.
If you’re starting with raw sesame seeds, toast the sesame seeds in a pan over medium low heat until golden, stirring constantly to avoid burning, about 5 minutes.
Add the toasted sesame seeds to a blender. Blend on high until blended into a powder, about 30 seconds, stopping and scraping down the sides and bottom corners to get any stuck seeds.
Add the soy sauce, orange juice, garlic, water, sesame oil, rice vinegar, orange zest and pickle juice to the blender with the sesame powder. Blend until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
Set the sauce aside and cook your choice of noodles according to package instructions, 1 minute less if you prefer a more toothsome texture. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and when the noodles are finished cooking, shock them in the ice water to stop the cooking and chill the noodles. Drain well and transfer to a bowl.
Add the sesame sauce to the noodles and gently toss. Serve in shallow bowls with desired toppings.
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