Easy Cooking: Cassandra's Sesame Noodles

Clive, I know you don't like cold pasta salad, which might best describe this dish. If you must, you can serve it hot immediately after making. I find, however, that refrigerating the noodles overnight intensifies the flavors. Take noodles out of refrigerator an hour before serving.

1/4 cup light soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

6 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon minced garlic

6 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

3 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon hot chili oil

1 box (12 to 16 ounces) linguine, cooked al dente and hot

3 scallions, thinly sliced (green part too)

Chopped fresh cilantro

Toasted sesame seeds

Put the soy sauce, vinegar, water, sugar, salt, ginger and garlic in a blender container. Process on high a minute. Add peanut butter and process a minute longer. With blender running on low speed, drizzle oils in through hole in lid until all is well mixed.

Place drained noodles in a large bowl and toss with the sauce. Refrigerate noodles overnight. An hour before ready to serve, remove noodles from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature. To serve, garnish with scallion, cilantro and sesame seeds. Serves 6 to 8.

Note: If you don't have chili oil, use a tablespoon of olive oil with a few sprinkles of dried chiles, the kind you use on pizza. And if you have only regular soy sauce, omit salt in recipe.