Inspired by the recent New York Times feature on sesame noodles, I selected Mark Bittman's entry and got to work in my kitchen.  On this day, I was all out of chicken but had some teriyaki marinated tofu from Trader Joes that I diced up to stand in for the protein.  And of course, I always want to bump up the veggies. This recipe invites you to clean out your veggie crisper.  Anything goes here.  In addition to the cucumber and scallions (which I doubled) I added in a finely chopped orange bell pepper and one head of steamed broccoli.  Lastly, as a spicy food lover, I increased the spicyness by adding in extra Sriracha and tripled the fresh ginger.  A great dish to make and eat during this heatwave. Below is Bittman's recipe but feel free to make it your own as I did.

 

Ingredients:

• Set a large pot of water to boil and salt it. If your chicken is uncooked, poach it in water as it comes to a boil; it will cook in about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel cucumbers, cut them in half, and, using a spoon, scoop out seeds. Cut cucumber into shreds and set aside.
• When water comes to a boil, cook pasta until tender but not mushy. (If chicken is not done, you can still add pasta; remove chicken when it is done.) While pasta is cooking, whisk together sesame oil and paste, sugar, soy, ginger, vinegar, hot oil and pepper in a large bowl. Thin sauce with hot water, so that it is about the consistency of heavy cream; you will need 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Stir in cucumber. When pasta is done, drain it and run pasta (and chicken, if necessary) under cold water. Drain. Shred chicken (the easiest way to do this is with your fingers).
• Toss noodles and chicken with sauce and cucumbers. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary (the dish may need salt), then garnish and serve.