The temperature today suddenly increases to low 80s from 50s yesterday! I think we will have a little taste of summer this week. Memorial Day is this weekend, which is the official start of summer activities. I'd better get ready!

Cold noodles is one of our favorite choices in the summer, when the appetite is suppressed by the heat. The sauce is made with sesame paste, nutty yet not greasy. It's cold but tastes great! The key is the sauce; the ingredients are very simple, just need a little patience to make it.

Instructions:

1. Cook half pound of thin spaghetti to al dente.

2. Drain and rinse with cold tap water. (I usually turn the faucet all the way to the right. This should do the work. If not, you can rinse with cold tap water first, then soak the spaghetti in ice water for 5 minutes.)

3. Remove excess water, and put them in a Pyrex dish or a platter. Drizzle two Tbsp. sesame oil on top and mix well with the spaghetti.

4. Cut one Japanese cucumber and one carrot in thin slices. Mix with the spaghetti, cover with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to chill.

5. Make the sauce. Sesame paste is the base of the sauce. It comes in a jar with oil covering on top to prevent it from oxidizing. So when you scoop it out (very hard), try not to get too much of the oil on top.

3-4 Tbsp of sesame paste
1.5 cups of water
pinch of salt and sugar
2 Tbsp of rice vinegar
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

a. Scoop out one Tbsp of sesame paste first, and put it in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of water, slowly dilute the sesame paste. (Use a spoon moving in a swirling motion.) Add more water if needed, one Tbsp at a time!

The sesame sauce

b. Repeat adding the sesame paste and diluting until the consistency is like salad dressing. (Be patient! It will be hard at the beginning, but once it starts to dilute out, it's easy.)

c. Mix in the vinegar, salt, sugar and chopped garlic.

6. Drizzle the sauce on top of the spaghetti and mix well. If desired, you can add some chilli sauce too.

Note:

1. The cold spaghetti and the sesame sauce should be stored separately. Just mix them before serving. Do not mix them then refrigerate; it won't taste good.

2. If feeling lazy, try this sauce, use it right out of jar: