When I was fresh out of college in the mid 90s, I interned for a time with Interview Magazine in Soho. One of my absolute favorite lunch spots was Kelley & Ping, an Asian market & noodle house, on Greene Street. My favorite item on their menu was their cold sesame noodles! Everything about this dish was perfect to me, including my quiet lunches at their communal tables, where I could relax for a little while before getting back to the work I was doing, which was mostly traveling from studio to studio to pick up & drop off prints for the photo department at the magazine.
I used to walk from Prince & Broadway little by little all the way up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art sometimes, and take the N train back. I was also 21, and I considered these long walks to be fun. Fun fact, I often stopped at David La Chapelle’s studio for prints. He had the most beautiful dog; a boxer, who always greeted me and sat beside me on the sofa while I waited.
So I have been craving these noodles for a very long time! Sadly, Kelley & Ping has moved their restaurant from Soho to Boulder, Colorado, and their cuisine is now unavailable to New Yorkers. But if you live in Colorado, don’t miss out!
As I was looking for recipes to inspire me, I discovered that I can very easily lower the carbs by a great deal. The main thing to replace are the noodles. So I used konjac, also known as shiritaki noodles. Easy! Shiritaki noodles are considered a vegetable, high in dietary fiber and very low in carbs. They are quite filling too.
Tips on prepping the noodles:
Drain and rinse from their package contents. Soak them & change the water about five times. Then boil some water and boil them for five minutes. My friend Kiki made the soaking suggestions to me & they made a big difference in getting rid of the gummy texture that they have.
Ingredients:
2 packages shiritaki noodles (I use Miracle Noodles)
3 tbsp peanut butter
3 tbsp Chinese sesame paste or tahini
1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp of tamari/soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sriracha
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp yacon syrup or honey
2 tbsp of water
Garnish:
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
3 scallions
1 Persian cucumber
1 lime
Directions:
Follow the tips I posted above to prepare the shiritaki noodles.
Make the sauce. It’s pretty simple. Whisk all of those ingredients in a bowl. Peanut butter, sesame paste, sriracha, sesame oil, ginger, water, yacon/ honey, rice vinegar, ginger, tamari/soy sauce.
When the noodles are ready, drain and toss them (while still hot) with the sesame peanut sauce. Mix in some peanuts & sesame seeds.
Garnish with scallions, more sesame, peanuts, thinly sliced seeded cucumber spears, lime zest & a squeeze of lime.
Kali Oreksi!
on xenia street 