Sesame Noodles and English Bitter

April 29th - Sesame Noodles and English Bitter

I was looking for something quick to cook and decided to make sesame noodles, which I hadn’t made in a long time. It’s another dish that I love but rarely seem to cook. I prefer to use whole wheat noodles because I think the nuttiness works well. The great thing about sesame noodles is their versatility. You can top them with shrimp, leftover shredded chicken, thinly sliced pork or beef, or sautéed tofu. I had some shrimp and opted to us those

The basic dressing is pretty simple: tahini, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, Chinese chile paste, a drop of sherry, and either a little lemon juice or rice wine vinegar to cut some of the richness. I basically just mix them all together in a bowl and adjust it until it tastes right to me. Cook and drain the noodles, toss them with the dressing, and add whatever vegetables you want. I used shredded carrots and scallions, but you could also add bean sprouts. I stir fired the shrimp in oil and then put them on top. You can garnish the whole thing with some toasted sesame seeds and cilantro as well. Although it’s not traditional, a nice squeeze of lime juice adds a burst of brightness it.

It being a quick casual dinner I hadn’t really thought about what to have with it, but I had picked up a can of Boddingtons Bitter at the Asian market. I will confess: I love canned beer. Canned beer has a stigma attached to it and there are still many people, beers snobs included, who think that canned beers have a metallic taste. They don’t. I don’t think they have in quite some time actually, but certainly the new generation of canned beers don’t taste metallic at all. Cans have a couple of key advantages over bottles: they don’t let light in, and they have are less prone to oxidation. Don’t believe me? Go get a bottle and a can of Pilsner Urquell and taste them side by side. The canned version will taste fresher and won’t have that light-struck skunkiness to it. In fact, at a tasting I’m conducting this weekend, I insisted on cans and the organizer still insisted on bottles. When we taste the beer, I’m sure it will have the light-struck quality that many people now associate with imported pilsners.

Back to the Boddingtons. Boddingtons draft bitter is a canned bitter that uses a widget and nitrogen to give a smoother, creamier mouthfeel which is supposed to emulate actual draft beer. Although the mouth feel is different, I like widget beers, although they can mask the aroma of the beer when it’s first poured. Boddingtons is deep gold color, but has a beautiful malt and light fruitiness aroma. It’s lighter bodied (which a good Bitter should be) and easy drinking, but it has a very solid malt richness. Because it’s such an easy drinking beer, it’s easy to overlook how good it really is. It’s actually quite good with Chinese food. The creaminess of the body (from the nitrogen) helps to cut the saltiness, and it has enough malt character to mix well with the mild heat. Although I hadn’t thought it would be an ideal beer, it reminded me how food friendly real Bitter is. It seems that some of the best beers with food, are the ones we don’t pay much attention to because they’re not big and flamboyant on their own. Keep that in mid the next time you’re trying to plan a menu around a an Imperial Stout or Double IPA.