About This Recipe
Instant noodles in a creamy tahini sauce with spicy lean ground beef crumbles and herby cucumbers.
Instructions
- Slice the cucumber into matchsticks or half moons and toss together with the rice vinegar, salt, chopped cilantro, and green parts of the sliced green onion. Cover and set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil for the noodles.
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat with cooking spray. Once hot, add the ground beef and cook for 2-3 minutes until a crust forms on one side. Then break the beef apart with a spatula and fully cook.
- While the beef cooks, mix together the beef sauce ingredients. Add the sauce to the fully cooked beef and cook until the sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
- Cook the noodles once you add the sauce to the beef. Cook for 4 minutes, reserve about 1 cup of water, and drain the rest.
- Add the cooked noodles back to the pot with the sauce packets from the noodles, tahini, and ¼ to ½ cup of the reserved cooking water as needed. Stir until smooth and creamy.
- Plate the noodles and top with the ground beef and cucumber salad. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and crunchy chili onion or chili oil, if desired.
💡 Notes & Tips
- Momofuku sesame miso noodles are the closest replacement with a sauce packet. If you're using instant noodles without a sauce packet, add 2 tablespoons of coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce and 1-2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil to the tahini and cooked noodles.
- Korean chili flakes are sweeter and milder than most dried chili flakes so don't substitute 1:1 for other kinds. Use another tablespoon of gochujang or add a small amount standard red chili flakes and some smoked paprika.
- Recipe adapted from Finn Tonry's spicy pork and sesame noodles.
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