Who Needs Takeout When You Can Make These Saucy Sesame Beef Noodles?

Saucy Sesame Beef Noodles

Saucy noods are reliably a balm to my soul at the end of a long, crappy day. I keep an absurd number of different kinds of noodles on hand at all times, and I especially love spaghetti for its ability to swing into a dish with Italian or Asian flavors. You don’t typically think of pasta as a great meal-prep option, but this dish truly gets better and better as it sits in the fridge for a day or two absorbing the sauce, so don’t be afraid to make it if you’re only cooking for one or two people.

• Kosher salt

• 1 pound spaghetti (or any long noodle)

• 1 medium yellow onion

• 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger

• 4 garlic cloves

• 4 tablespoons sesame oil

• 1 pound shaved beef (or 1 pound sirloin or rib eye steak, sliced as thinly as possible)

• 1 (10-ounce) bag shredded carrots

• ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar 2 tablespoons tahini

• 2 tablespoons sriracha, sambal oelek, or gochujang

• 1 ½ tablespoons honey

• 1 tablespoon fish sauce

• Toppings (optional): chopped fresh cilantro and/or basil, sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, more sriracha

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package instructions. Scoop out 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the onion. Grate the ginger (no need to peel it first) and garlic.

3. Warm 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add the sliced onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil, then when it shimmers, add the beef, peeling apart the pieces, the carrots, and the ginger and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until the steak is almost cooked through but still slightly pink in the center, 3 to 4 minutes. Scooch everything over to one side of the skillet.

4. To the empty side of the skillet, add ½ cup of the cooking water, the soy sauce, vinegar, tahini, sriracha, honey, and fish sauce. Stir it all together until combined, then stir it together with the beef and carrots. Cook until the sauce thickens a bit, another minute.

5. Transfer everything from the skillet into the pot with the pasta and stir to coat. Add more splashes of cooking water as needed—the sauce should be glossy and stick to the noodles. Taste and add salt if needed.

6. Divide among bowls and serve with any toppings that make you happy.

TIP: You don’t always have to dirty up a separate bowl to make your sauce. Just dump all of the sauce ingredients straight into the center of the skillet and stir together as best you can. No worries if it’s not totally homogeneous; it’ll all come together in the end.

What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers

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Recipe reprinted with permission from What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photographs © 2024 Eva Kolenko.