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These Spicy Sesame Noodles are creamy, perfectly spiced, and easy to make! A cozy and satisfying vegan dinner that’s even better than takeout.
Let’s do some math here. Chewy Noodles + a Thick, Creamy, and Spicy Sesame Sauce = perfection. Right? Right.
I may not get an A in Calculus with those skills, but who the heck cares?! I have a bowl of delicious noodles to enjoy…
These Spicy Sesame Noodles are also known as Ma Jiang Man, a common street food in Taiwan. How do I know this, you ask? Because my dear friend Liz Miu told me so!
One of my goals this year is to collaborate with more women of color and have them share veganized recipes from their childhood! Liz is a talented noodle-maker, chef, and ecstatic dancer extraordinaire. I’m constantly inspired by her yummy Asian recipes, so when she came to visit me (all the way from Australia!), I knew I had to learn from the master herself 😉
Not only is this recipe yummy and cozy, but it’s also made from simple and affordable ingredients! These Spicy Sesame Noodles are what as known as “Peasant Food” – you don’t need a lot of fancy or expensive ingredients to make it, but it’ll fill your belly up and leave you happy and satisfied.
Liz and I made our noodles from scratch – it sounds complicated, but it surprisingly easy AND way more delicious! You can also use store-bought Noodles or Gluten-Free Rice Noodles if you’re in a pinch, but Liz recommends going the homemade route.
We’ll top our noodles with a homemade Sesame Sauce that’s soooo good. Like, finger-licking good. You’ll only need 6 ingredients to make it, and you probably have most of them lying around your pantry! Toss your Noodles in the Sauce, then garnish with some Cilantro, Toasted Sesame Seeds, heaps of Cucumber, Green Onions, Peanuts, and Chili Oil. Now that’s a decked out bowl.
If you want to see this recipe in action, you can also watch Liz and I make it together!
If you’re looking for more Asian-Inspired recipes, you’ll also love this 30 Minute Vegan Pad Thai and this Cold Soba Noodle Salad!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂 And don’t forget to keep up with Liz on her Instagram, YouTube, and Blog!
PrintSpicy Sesame Noodles (Ma Jiang Mian)
These Spicy Sesame Noodles are creamy, perfectly spiced, and easy to make! A cozy and satisfying vegan dinner that’s even better than takeout.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 Servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
For the Homemade Noodles: (Optional)
- 2 cups (300g) All-Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Neutral Oil
- 2/3 cup (140ml) Filtered Water
For the Sesame Sauce:
- 2 tbsp Tahini or Sesame Paste
- 4 tbsp Smooth Peanut Butter
- 2–3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce (to taste)
- 1 tsp Unseasoned Rice Vinegar
- 2–3 tsp Sugar
- 1/2 cup Hot Water
- 2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
To Garnish the Noodles:
- Toasted Sesame Seeds
- Chopped Peanuts
- Seedless Cucumber, sliced
- Fresh Cilantro
- Green Onions
- Chili Oil, to taste (this is what makes things spicy!)
Instructions
For the Homemade Noodles: (Optional)
- First, Whisk the Flour and Salt together in a large bowl. Add the Oil to the center of the bowl, and use chopsticks to mix well.
- Slowly add the water to the Flour mixture a little at a time, using the chopsticks to mix everything together. Once you can no longer mix the dough with the chopsticks, use your hands to knead the dough and form a ball. It may look slightly lumpy, but that’s okay!
- Return the dough ball to the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel; let rest for 20 minutes. The dough will not rise, but will become more elastic and easier to work with.
- Divide the dough into 2-4 portions, to make it easier to work with. Flour your surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a thin sheet (about 1 cm or ⅓” thick). Dust the sheet with more flour, flip it, then dust it again.
- Re-flour your surface (notice a theme here?), then fold the dough sheet into 3-4 layers. Cut the dough into thin strips (~1/3″) to create noodles, unfolding the dough to reveal the noodle. Let the noodles rest for another 15 minutes before gently “pulling” the noodles (by holding the ends and “bouncing” them on your floured surface) to stretch them out. This step is optional, but fun!
- Dust the noodles with even more flour to prevent sticking, then bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles for 3-5 minutes, until tender. You may have to do this in batches, depending on how large your pot is. Serve the noodles immediately – they’re best when hot!
For the Sesame Sauce:
- Add all of the ingredients except for the hot water to a medium bowl and mix well. Slowly whisk the Hot Water into the sauce, then taste and add any extra ingredients according to your personal preference. Refrigerate any Sauce leftovers for up to one week.
To Assemble the Bowls:
- Cook your desired Noodles according to the package instructions, if you are not making them from scratch.
- Add the Noodles to a bowl, then toss them with the Sesame Sauce. Top with Cucumber, Green Onion, Cilantro, Toasted Sesame Seeds, Chopped Peanuts, and a hefty drizzle of Chili Oil to finish things off! Serve warm and enjoy.
Notes
- There is no flour substitute for this recipe. If you don’t have the time or are Gluten-Free, you can use store-bought Udon noodles or Rice Noodles instead!
- Soy Sauce may be substituted with Tamari or Liquid Aminos, to keep things Gluten-Free.
Keywords: Sesame Noodles, Peanut Sesame Noodles, Asian Sesame Noodles, Vegan Sesame Noodles, Spicy Asian Noodles
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This recipe is DELICIOUS! Almost identical and comparable to the ones I’ve had in Taiwan. I used dry, Taiwanese noodles in a package. I might try some fresh udon noodles next time. Do you know how many calories this is?
★★★★★
Awesome! Let us know how you like it with the other noodles and which you prefer! Out of personal philosophy we don’t calculate calories for any of the recipes but you can use a tool like Cronometer.
My whole family loved this. The sauce is super yummy. I love the combo of tahini and peanut butter. I used lo mein noodles and added some steamed broccoli and sliced bell peppers.
★★★★★
Sauces are always the best part! Glad your family loved it!
It is AMAZING!!!! Ahh! I cannot even explain how much I enjoyed this! My mom made her italian inspired with veggies, olive oil, and vegan parmasean! They were both sooo good! You HAVE to try this!
★★★★★
That sounds delicious too!
This recipe sounds amazing! I really want to make it but I have a question! For the peanut butter, do we use salted or unsalted? Or does it not matter?
You can use either – if you use Salted, reduce the Soy Sauce and just add it to taste 🙂
Amazing recipe! super easy and delicious, I added dried minced garlic and ground ginger powder to the sauce!
★★★★★
Sounds delicious!
This recipe looks sooo good! I’m glad I don’t have work tomorrow because now I have time to try these noodles haha thank you!
★★★★★
Awesome, Bryan! We hope you love them x
It’s probably too late, but I recommend freezing uncooked noodles. I’ve been making asian style noodles from similar recipe (except no oil) for some time and I always freeze 2/3 of what I make. No need to thaw them, just boil them like in the recipe remembering to use a large amount of water (so it doesn’t cool too much from frozen noodles)
I am making this recipe right now and I have made far too many noodles. I haven’t boiled all of them yet, so would you recommend keeping the uncooked noodles and cooking them when I want to eat them next? Or would it be better to cook them then save them as I would any other cooked noodles? If you have no idea (like me) that’s totally fine too! The sauce is insanely good by the way, I already made that part of the dish too.
I think it would be best to store the dough uncooked, as the noodles dry out quite quickly once cooked
Made this tonight (didn’t have time to make my own noodles so used soba noodles) and it was delicious!
★★★★
Could you sub the peanut butter with a different nut butter or would the flavor change too much?
You can, but it will definitely affect the final flavor x