Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles - Liang Mian (涼麵)

When the weather heats up, it always puts me in the mood for Liang Mian or Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles.  With its creamy sesame sauce and cold crisp cucumbers, it's so refreshing! 

My mom has been making this recipe for as long as I can remember.  Once I moved away to college, it was one of the first recipes I had to learn. 

Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles, also known as Liang Mian (cold noodles), are delightfully refreshing in the summertime. It's available just about everywhere in Taiwan, from large-scale restaurants to local food stalls and even Taiwanese Night Markets.

Unquestionably, Cold Sesame Noodles is the perfect way to escape the heat and humidity in Taiwan.

After immigrating to the US and craving Liang Mian, my vegetarian mom developed this recipe. It was the only way to get our fix.

However, living in a small town in the 80's meant sesame paste wasn't always accessible so she used a pantry staple...peanut butter. It sounded strange at first but the flavor profile of peanut butter is actually quite similar to that of sesame paste, making peanut butter a great alternative.

Liang Mian is often served with an array of toppings (such as cucumber, ham, egg cooked omelet style, carrots, or steamed bean sprouts) and it's dressed with a creamy, nutty sauce with a garlicky bite. The sesame sauce is very similar to that of Ma Jiang Mian (sesame noodles).

This Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles recipe is super easy to make and it's also easy on the wallet, making it a fabulous weekday lunch or dinner option. It's sure to please every palate, including your vegetarian friends'. Our family loves Liang Mian and I hope you do too!

Ingredients for Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles (Liang Mian)

The main ingredient in the sauce is Chinese sesame paste. It's made from toasted sesame seeds that's ground into a paste.

Don't confuse it with Middle Eastern tahini, which is also a ground sesame paste. However, tahini is made from raw sesame seeds which doesn't have the roasted nutty flavor that is critical for this Liang Mian recipe.

If you can't find Chinese sesame paste, you can substitute it with creamy peanut butter. It works as a great substitute for this Cold Noodles recipe.

You could also do a combination of sesame paste and peanut butter.  I just use whatever I have in the pantry and it always turns out amazing!  

How to Make Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles

Cook your noodles according to the package instructions.  Any type of thin wheat noodles will work for this recipe but I like to use thin spaghetti cooked al dente for a nice bite. 

Pasta also stores well in the fridge so leftover Cold Sesame Noodles make for a very easy meal. Just drizzle a teaspoon or two of sesame oil over your drained pasta and toss it to coat.  It not only adds flavor to your noodles, but it also keeps it from sticking.  

For the sesame sauce, whisk together sesame paste/peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, black vinegar and sesame oil.  Give it a good whisk until the ingredients come together and form a paste.  Be sure to work out any lumps. 

Slowly whisk in about half the water to start and continue mixing in more water until you reach a smooth and silky consistency.  Store it in a mason jar and your sesame sauce is ready! 

The sauce will store for up to a week in the fridge.  If your sesame sauce thickens up, add a bit of water and/or vinegar to loosen it up a bit.

Now I know what you're thinking.  Where's the garlic?  I have two little ones who love this dish but can't handle the raw garlicky flavor so here's my solution.

Grate 2 cloves of garlic and add 2 tablespoons of hot water.  This will take out some of the bite in the garlic.

Now everyone can add as much or as little garlic flavoring in their Cold Sesame Noodles to suit their palates.  If you have a household that doesn't mind raw garlic, skip this step and add the grated garlic directly into the sesame sauce. 

Toppings for Liang Mian

Now for the toppings. Cold, crisp, julienned cucumbers are a must!  It's not Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles without cucumbers.  The addition of cucumbers makes Liang Mian incredibly refreshing and also provides a great contrast in texture.

Pick a good crisp cucumber with thin skin such as Persian, Japanese or English cucumbers.  Julienne into thin strips about 2 inches long. 

My kids like ham so I'm also using ham in this recipe but you can really use any toppings you like. If you have leftover breast meat from a Costco rotisserie chicken, it's a good way to use it up in this Cold Sesame Noodles recipe. 

Most often, I include scrambled eggs cooked like a thin omelet and cut it into strips.

Some popular toppings for Liang Mian are:

• cucumbers
• carrots
• bean sprouts (steamed or blanched)
• eggs cooked omelet style
• ham
• shredded chicken breast

We're ready to plate Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles!  Pile on toppings over your noodles and drizzle on a good amount of sesame sauce.  I'm a sauce girl so I go heavy on the sauce. 

Add garlic flavoring to your liking and chili oil or chili sauce for some heat.  Give it a good mix and enjoy!

How to Store Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles

You can make Liang Mian ahead of time and store the noodles, sesame sauce and toppings separately in the fridge.  In fact, it tastes better when all the ingredients are chilled. 

• Julienned ham, cucumber and eggs store well in an airtight container or a dish tightly wrapped with plastic wrap.  Noodles keep well in a large storage bag or a covered bowl. 
• Mason jars or any air tight jar do a great job of storing the sesame sauce. After refrigerating, the sauce may get a little thick.  Loosen it up by stirring in a teaspoon of water and/or vinegar at a time.
• Taiwanese Cold Sesame Noodles make great lunches for kids and adults alike. It makes a great meal for a picnic at the park or the beach.

The prepared ingredients will last several days in the fridge. For a quick Cold Sesame Noodles lunch for the office, pack a serving of noodles, cucumber, ham and egg in your favorite cooler bag with a separate container of sesame sauce. 

Prepping it the night before means you won't have to stress about it in the morning. When lunch time hits, drizzle sesame sauce over your preassembled Liang Mian, mix it up and watch as you coworkers envy your lunch. ^_^