Chinese Restaurant Cold Sesame Noodles - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb udon noodles
2 tablespoons sesame oil, plus a splash
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon chinese rice vinegar
2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon Chinese sesame paste
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons chili paste with garlic (to taste)
2 scallions, sliced
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, for garnish

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes; they should retain a hint of chewiness. Drain, rinse with cold water (if you'd like to try something different, sometimes I leave the noodles somewhat warm), drain again and toss with a splash of sesame oil. Some udon noodles come with microwave instructions, feel free to use those.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil, the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame paste, peanut butter, sugar, ginger, garlic and chili-garlic paste. (Two notes: 1- I use sriracha sauce in place of the chili-garlic paste. 2- If you don't have Chinese sesame paste, I usually use tahini and just a touch more sesame oil).
Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss (you may have extra sauce, which you can reserve to use for another serving later). Transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.