Quickly blanched asparagus spears top a pile of ginger scallion doused cucumber noodles and are finished with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
This is the time of year I most look forward to. As we slowly inch our way closer to the long sunshine-filled days of summer, spring paves the way with plenty of fresh produce to revive us from our winter slumber.
The arrival of the first bunches of asparagus always puts me in a good mood; and I enjoy them while I can shaved thinly in salads, quickly braised with other spring vegetables, quickly pickled or to swipe up herb filled aiolis.
Lately I’ve been serving them tossed with slippery, slurp-worthy cucumber noodles in a ginger, scallion sesame sauce. The crisp-tender texture of quickly blanched asparagus spears are the perfect companion to the silky strands of noodles, each bite infused with the gentle heat of ginger and the freshness of spring green onions.
If you haven’t made noodles out of vegetables yet I suggest you invest in a small julienne peeler or spiralizer and try your hand at it; I guarantee you’ll quickly be part of the vegetable noodle fan club. The possibilities are endless depending on what season you’re in, and you end up with a plateful of ribbony strands that you can twist and turn around your fork (or chopsticks) like noodles.
Here I’ve used cucumbers to create skinny soba-like noodles that are slicked with a flavorful Asian sauce made from finely chopped scallions, fresh grated ginger, a splash of sesame oil and a pinch of red pepper. The sauce whisks up quickly while you blanch your asparagus spears in boiling salted water until tender but still crisp and bright green. Meanwhile you create your “noodle” base and the rest is just a matter of assembly.
What you end up with is a bowl piled high with cool slippery noodles punctuated with tender bites of asparagus and a palmful of toasted sesame seeds.
Cucumber Noodles with Sesame Sauce
Quickly blanched asparagus spears top a pile of ginger scallion doused cucumber noodles and are finished with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 small scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
- One 2 to 3 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated on a microplane
- 1 teaspoon/5ml toasted sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons/30ml olive oil (chose one with a fairly light and neutral flavor)
- 1 ½ Tablespoons/23ml coconut aminos
- 1 /8th teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- Pinch of sea salt, to taste
- 1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed and sliced on the diagonal into 2 inch pieces
- 2 English hothouse cucumbers, peeled
- 2 Tablespoons/30g toasted sesame seeds to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together the scallions, ginger, toasted sesame oil , olive oil, coconut aminos , red pepper flakes .
- Taste and add a pinch of salt if needed. Set aside while you make the asparagus and cucumber noodles. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus spears until crisp tender (about 2 minutes) then drain and shock in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and set color. Using a julienne peeler or spiralizer create long noodles from the peeled cucumbers. (If using a julienne peeler, run it lengthwise until you reach the core then turn a ¼ turn and repeat all the way around. Toss the cucumber noodles with the ginger scallion sauce, add the cooled blanched asparagus and toss gently again to combine. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve.
Notes
Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo (for a Raw version, skip blanching the asparagus and shave it thinly with a peeler and use un-toasted sesame seeds)
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 243Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 625mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 5g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Ron says
Love your site which I found on Pinterest. Can't wait to try this! Will say that my health has completely transformed since I have changed to a predominately vegetarian diet! So I am always looking for great recipes like this. I thought I would share some info about making veggie noodles. I have use the Julienne adapter on my mandolin slicer which I really like; however, there's one gadget that I found that has almost taken it's place - it can be found in most kitchen gadget stores and probably on Amazon. It's a vegetable noodle maker called Veggetti. It makes perfect alternative pasta noodles out of zucchini squash or and other types of vegetables. Would be a great tool to use for a recipe like this.
Maria | Pink Patisserie says
Definitely Spring in a bowl. So beautiful and I'm fast becoming a fan of vegetable noodles too!
Aqiyl Aniys says
Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! I never thought of making cucumber noodles. I make zucchini noodles all the time but never thought of making cucumber noodles. And I don't know why. I love cucumbers. this is an excellent recipe.
Kitchen Belleicious says
cucumber noodles. Could you get any cuter and creative. I love it. You always inspire me when I visit whether it be your food or your photography! Keep it up:)
Kulsum says
my daughter loves cucumber and I really need to buy a spiralizer to make this.
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
I've been thinking about julienne peeler for quite some time. Now that warmer seasons coming up, I think I can use it for many recipes, and I'd love to make cucumber noodles! I can use cucumber noodles and regular noodles half and half to start with (esp for kids), but I like this healthy noodles. Ginger in the dressing and sauce is my favorite ingredient to add a kick. On my list to try after buying the peeler!
Gwen @simplyhealthyfamily says
I've tried unsuccessfully to julienne veggies w a hand held peeler. I think I might have to bump up a sprilozer on my "kitchen gadgets I can't live without" list. 😉
Amanda says
This looks like a wonderful dish. Thanks for sharing!
Kelly @ The Nourishing Home says
I received a spiralizer as a gift and am loving using it. This recipe looks so divine. I can't wait to give it a try! Thank you so much for sharing!! 🙂
julia says
This is such a beautiful springy dish! I love those cucumber noodles!