Sesame Noodles with Chili Oil and Scallions

One of my favorite things to do on my weekends is to peruse magazines while eating my breakfast. I subscribe to many magazines. Granted, most of them are fashion, but I also subscribe to Entertainment Weekly and Bon Appetit. I love Bon Appetit. If I come across a recipe that sounds interesting I'll rip out the page and tuck it in one of my notebooks. In the June issue of Bon Appetit; I came across this recipe for Sesame Noodles. Now, I know Wormfood already posted this recipe, but to me Bon Appetit's version is completely different. Sure, it has sesame oil but that's really where the similarities end. Okay, fine. It also has soy sauce, but what asian recipe doesn't? Ha. Anyway, I thought this recipe was pretty darn good. It wasn't as spicy as I would have thought, but it had a lot of flavor. Also, I wish I had waited till the noodles had cooled down, because I feel like it made the sauce kind of weird. It's hard to explain, but I think if I had let the noodles cool the sauce would have been silkier. I used an Habanero pepper as I didn't have a sichuan pepper handy. And, I was kind of confused as to what to do with the oil mixture, but if I had followed the directions I would have realized that I was making my own chili oil. Instead, when I made the dressing I used chili oil I had in the cabinet. Whoops. Anyway, it still turned out great. I can't wait for my next copy of Bon Appetit. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 scallions, whites and greens separated, thinly sliced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp Sichuan pepper, coarsely chopped (I used an Habanero from my garden)
12 oz. think ramen noodles or spaghettini (I used spaghetti)
Kosher salt
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
3 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sugar

Take out a small sauce pan, and cook the scallion whites, vegetable oil, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, and pepper in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally. Once oil is sizzling and scallions are golden brown (12 to 15 minutes) remove from heat and let cool. Don't forget to turn off the stove. Next, cook your noodles in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Now, take out a large bowl and whisk in the tahini, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the chili oil you had set aside earlier. Season with salt. Add noodles and toss to coat. Top with scallion greens and drizzle with more chili oil if you so desire. Enjoy.