Sesame Noodles with Chicken Recipe

Noodles lightly seasoned in a sesame-garlic sauce surely can hit the spot. This version of sesame noodles with chicken is a satisfying dish that primarily uses ingredients you have on hand, assuming you’ve made Asian food once or twice.

You can make these sesame noodles with the chicken or without, to suit the occasion. If this dish is your entire meal, the chicken works beautifully as your protein. If you need a side dish or a vegetarian option, skip the chicken and you still have a tasty, tangy plate of noodles.

Ingredients for sesame noodles with chicken

Here’s what you need to make this recipe:

• 16 oz of thin pasta noodles
• 6 garlic cloves
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil or safflower oil
• 6 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons chili sauce
• 6 green onions and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds for garnish
• Optional, 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Substitution options

Pasta. You can use any thin noodle you have on hand. I use spaghetti because it’s in my pantry, but you could also make this with angel hair, linguine, or lo mein noodles.

Protein. Skip the chicken if you want, or try this recipe with sliced pork loin chops.

How to make sesame noodles with chicken

I like to do the prep work first, because it makes for a less frantic time as you near completion of the recipe.

1. Prep ingredients

Start by slicing the green onions and placing them in a small container out of the way. Next, peel and mince 6 garlic cloves. You can put the minced cloves in a medium-sized saucepan. In a few minutes, you’ll add the rest of the sauce ingredients to that pan.

Now’s a good time to check the package instructions on your pasta. Ideally, you’ll be cooking the pasta, chicken, and sauce at the same time. The chicken will take the longest, followed by the pasta, and then the sauce.

But you need to bowl that water, so get a deep pot over high heat now.

To keep the clutter on your stovetop to a minimum, toast your sesame seeds while the pasta water heats up. Place them in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Stir them gently until they brown lightly and become fragrant. Remove the skillet from the heat and place the seeds in small bowl. You’ll use these with the green onions as garnish.

Now you can remove the chicken from its packaging and pat it dry. If you’d like, grind a few turns of salt and pepper over the chicken pieces.

2. Cook the chicken

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add 2 teaspoons of oil. Place the chicken in the pan. You can let it cook undisturbed for about 6 minutes on one side. Flip, then cook another 6 minutes.

Check the temperature with a meat thermometer. It’s done when the temperature reaches 165°F or 74°C. Remove the chicken from the pan and place it on a cutting board to rest for a few minutes.

Once the chicken has rested, slice it into 1-inch strips or whatever bite-sized shapes you prefer.

3. Cook the pasta

Once your pasta water starts boiling, add your noodles and cook them according to package instructions. Grab a pasta strainer or colander and place it in the sink for later. Set a timer and check the noodles for doneness when you hear that timer ring.

Drain the noodles and toss them with 2 teaspoons of oil so they don’t stick together.

4. Make the sauce

Remember that saucepan you put the garlic in? To that same pan, add:

• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons safflower oil or vegetable oil
• 6 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 6 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons chili sauce

Put that saucepan over the flame and turn up the heat to medium-high. Let the sauce come to a bowl. Turn down the heat so the boil is more gentle and stir until the sugar dissolves.

5. Mix and serve

To keep dirty dishes to a minimum, you can mix the sauce and noodles in the same pot that cooked the pasta. Place your noodles back in the pot, add the sauce, and stir to coat.

I like to serve the noodles in a bowl, add the chicken pieces on top, and finish with sesame seeds and green onions. If you want your chicken to be coated with sauce, you can add them into the pot with the pasta in the sauce before stirring everything to combine. (The only reason I don’t do this is that it’s hard to serve equally. One person gets all noodles and someone else gets all chicken.)

More Asian-inspired recipes to try

If you liked sesame noodles with chicken, try these fun recipes next:

• Chinese honey chicken
• Peanut butter noodles
• Dan dan noodles
• Bourbon chicken

Enjoy!