Cold Noodles With Chile Oil and Citrusy Cabbage Recipe (2024)

Sounds wonderful. But let's get real. With about 20 ingredients to assemble, measure (or approximate), and process for the "anchor," this hardly seems like a dish that's going to get us out of the kitchen. And those "few other things to set out" need to be warmed, chopped or toasted. Note also, lemon or lime juice and zest are used in each step of the recipe. The recipe or a head note should state the total amount needed so that one doesn't have to juice citrus repeatedly.

I’m not sure how many people you had helping you, but including prep this recipe took me 2 hours.

In defense of this recipe, and yes, it took me 35 mins. Folks need to know that it is best made as a "clean the fridge" meal. Use the leftover udon noodles you made for ramen from a previous meal. Add in the pre-cooked veggie or chicken from the night before. And then be okay that you are spending your time creating sauces and condiments that bring it all together.

Made this tonite. Rave reviews. Took me a couple of hours to get it all together, but maybe I am just slow. I didn’t put the full amount of pepper flakes into the spiced oil because there are a few children in our family. A couple of us added chile oil (not the spiced oil in step one)to our own serving to amp up the heat. The prep did create a lot of dishes to wash, but that’s my husband’s job. As a matter of fact, I can hear him sighing very loudly as I write this.!

I love this. No, it was not simple to put together stepwise, but it was not time-consuming. I timed myself and it took one hour (not rushing). I thought the rich noodles with the sharp crunchy cabbage and the salty scallions was great. I added bok choy that had been sautéed with some garlic to my noodles. I’ll make this again

To everyone who commented on the chile oil -- yes, we all know it's a condiment that is purchased in the store. Thank you. If you read the recipe, however, no "chile oil" is mentioned, neither in the list of ingredients nor in the cooking steps. Also, in step 1, we heat one-half cup of oil with a number of fragrant and spicy items, including Sichuan peppercorns and pepper flakes. Hence, chile oil. Unless you want to just throw it away.

MollyT: I did strain the seeds from my chile oil because the garlic was getting too brown and I was worried about it tainting the oil. The strained oil is still very flavorful. I'll miss the crunch of the seeds, though. Other comments: 1) when it says "thinly sliced" cabbage, the thinner the better. 2) Don't skip the lemony scallions. They add a lot.

This did take quite a while to prepare but it was totally worth it. I added some shredded chicken that I had left over—delicious. And the kicker? It was even better for lunch the next day. I will make this again.

When the recipe mentions "chile oil" I assume it refers to the oil that was used to toast the fennel, garlic, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns in earlier. Strain out the garlic and spices, or leave them in?

Such a brilliant, relieving approach to hoasting! I used sesame oil instead of olive on the cabbage. It has a more bold flavor, especially for those who skip the tahini sauce.

This is extremely delicious, but certainly not a quick meal. I did have some leftover lemony cabbage and spicy fried chicken to add, but used about every pot and bowl in my house to make the rest of the meal. Everything is simple to make, but didn't save me any time in the kitchen. Superbly delicious and flavorful, however.

I used Lang Zhou noodles I picked up in the fresh noodle aisle at JMart in Flushing and they were sublime. This is very easy to make, but too time consuming for a regular weeknight. Thankfully, you don't need to make it all. Make the noodles and the scallions and you'll be set. If you have another 10 minutes, make the tahini sauce and blanche some broccoli. The cabbage was good, but not necessary. The noodles are great on day 2.

The noodles are good but watch out--if you use all of the seasoned chilli oil on them they will be plenty spicy!

Use vegetable noodles and stead of flour noodles

Loved. Skipped Szechuan pepper, star anise, zests (will try another time). Made the cabbage first so it had some time to release in the vinegar + citrus. Then set chicken breasts to poach (started out per Melissa Clark's recent recipe; finished on the stove). Boiled water. Blanched baby broccoli, removed, brought back to boil, put in noodles. Made scallions and tahini sauce while noodles cooked. Whole process took somewhere between 40 min and an hour. Didn't have dish issue others mentioned.

So, yeah... this took a while to cook, even with my husband helping me, but to me, it's worth every minute. Honestly, we make it twice a week and almost always serve it when we have company. For me, this is a go-to, despite the work.

More work than I anticipated, but was absolutely worth it. Honestly, I can hardly wait to make it again. Delicious.

All the sauces were delicious and can easily be used with other things so they’re good to remember. We weren’t wild about the cabbage so maybe skip that for tofu which would appreciate the sauces more.

A lot of moving parts to this recipe...but it was quite delicious! I'd make it again. However the 35 minute cooking estimate is way off! Try an hour for someone pretty quick in the kitchen.

Too many ingredients for a side dish folks. The prepping alone is too much. Slice raw white cabbage Marinate in 1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar1/2 Cup water3 Tsp. SaltI tablespoon white sugar1 Cup carrot batonsLet stand refrigerated Enjoy

NTT- the cold noodle recipe by Alison Roman

I haven't prepared the oil as suggested here, so I can't compare the results, but using the method in the NYTC dan dan noodle recipe, I measured the aromatics into a Pyrex, then heated the oil separately, poured it over, let the spices and garlic do their delightful sizzle and bubble, then let it sit to infuse and cool and strained it. Seems a far less stressful way to do it (no hovering), also less chance for ruining the whole batch by allowing the stuff to burn if momentarily distracted.

came across this looking for something to do with leftover soba noodles and radish from last night's memil guksu — this was perfect for that application. for those looking to save time, i forewent the tahini sauce & added a softboiled egg to replace the protein. absolutely delicious & (working from leftovers) i went from opening the fridge to eating in about 15 minutes. also add MSG to your chili oils — you'll thank yourself!

Made this for a group the other night and everyone loved it. It was fun for everyone to decide what they liked best and assemble accordingly. Added some charred brocolini and the herby salad and it fed everyone with lots of leftovers. Big fan! Super tasty!

We love this recipe - it’s a staple in our house. A couple tips to speed things up. 1) We make a big batch of chili oil each year using the woks of life recipe. It’s delicious and no need to make a small batch each time. 2) Blend all the ingredients for lemony scallions and tahini sauce in a food processor or stick blender. All of the flavors get combined anyway and it’s much easier to just throw things in and blend.

Do strain the chile oil! We liked the noodles with the cabbage and scallions on top.

Such a great meal. I added smoked tofu to keep it vegetarian.

This was delicious. This took me less than an hour to prep and put together. It would have been faster if I had set my water to boil sooner. I cleaned as I go too. Don’t be intimidated by this! I ended up adding some sliced snow peas to the cabbage salad for a pop of green and sweetness.

Even 12 ounces of noodles was too much -- overwhelmed the other ingredients. 12 ounces would serve 8 at least but the flavor just wasn't there for this dish. I wanted to like it, I really did, but ... just a hard pass from me on this one.

Love this, and have been making for years. For me it's worth the time in part because it results in plenty of leftovers, which are great cold. To simplify slightly, throw the scallions in with cabbage (as written) and add 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Serve with poached chicken breasts, sliced.