…And a fried egg. The fried egg (or soft boiled egg) is really an important part of this Sesame Noodles with Wilted Greens dish, but it just seemed like including it in the title would make it excessively long. But I suppose crispy tofu or any roasted meat would work just as well as an egg. But anyway.
I’m really into simple food. It’s easy to prepare, you can taste the nuances of the ingredients, and it just doesn’t take a lot of mental energy. This one is nothing more than a bowl full of lightly seasoned pasta, spinach (or any other green) quickly wilted in a skillet with a little garlic, salt, and pepper, and an egg for extra protein and that luxuriously silky yolk. 🙌 #yolklove
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Can I Use Different Noodles?
I used whole wheat pasta not only for the extra fiber and nutrients, but also because the nutty flavor goes so very well with the sesame sauce. Soba, or buckwheat noodles, would also be great for this dish, but they tend to be a bit more expensive than whole wheat spaghetti (unless you have access to a great Asian market).
Can I Use Different Greens?
I happened to have a huge bag of spinach that I bought for smoothies that was wilting faster than expected, so I used half the bag (8oz.) for these bowls. You could use any variety of other greens, though, like bok choy, kale, or even something like baby broccoli. Customize! :)
How Do You Store Sesame Noodles with Wilted Greens?
You can store the noodles and greens together in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for about four days, but you’ll want to cook the egg fresh each day. I would just reheat the noodles and greens in the microwave as I cook the egg. If you plan to take this meal to work, you can substitute the fried egg with a hard boiled egg.
What Else Can I Add?
This simple bowl is a great starting place for a lot of fun variations. Try adding some Honey Sriracha Tofu, avocado, edamame, shredded carrot, or maybe some Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken.
Sesame Noodles with Wilted Greens
Servings 4Ingredients
SESAME NOODLES
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.20)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil ($0.33)
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar ($0.11)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.04)
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds ($0.08)
- pinch red pepper flakes (optional) ($0.02)
- 8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti ($0.75)
WILTED GREENS
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 8 oz. fresh spinach ($2.00)
- salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
EGG
- 4 large eggs ($1.10)
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the sesame sauce so the flavors have time to mingle. Mince the clove of garlic, then combine it with the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame seeds, and red pepper in a small bowl. Set the sauce aside.
- Begin to boil a large pot of water to cook the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to cook until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander, then return it to the pot with the heat turned off. Pour the sesame sauce over the pasta, stir to combine, then place a lid on the pot to keep it warm until ready to serve. The pasta will continue to absorb the sauce as it sits.
- While the pasta is boiling, prepare the wilted greens. Mince the clove of garlic and add it to a large skillet along with the olive oil. Sauté the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat for about one minute, or just until the garlic is fragrant and has softened slightly. Add the spinach and continue to sauté just until it has wilted. The spinach should still be bright green and look slightly plump. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
- Prepare the eggs using your favorite method; fried sunny side up, over hard, poached, scrambled, or soft boiled.
- Give the spaghetti a good stir to redistribute the sesame sauce, then divide between four bowls. Add a scoop of the wilted greens to each bowl, then top with an egg and serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Sesame Noodles with Wilted Greens – Step by Step Photos
Start by making the sesame dressing so the flavors have time to meld a bit. Mince one clove of garlic and combine it with 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, 1 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp sesame seeds, and a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional). Set the dressing aside.
It’s really important to use toasted sesame oil for this dressing because it has a SUPER nutty flavor that you don’t get from regular sesame oil. It can be a bit tricky, though, because the label on the bottle might not specifically say “toasted”. So how do you tell the difference? TOASTED sesame oil has a dark brown color and is usually sold in smaller bottles, whereas regular sesame oil has a light straw color (like vegetable or canola oil). Toasted sesame oil can be found in most major grocery stores in the International foods aisle. It may seem expensive, but a little bit goes a long way, so that bottle will last a while!
Begin boiling a large pot of water for the pasta. Once boiling, add 8oz. of whole wheat spaghetti and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. I really like whole wheat spaghetti for this recipe because it has a nutty flavor and gives the dish more texture.
While the pasta is boiling, prepare the wilted greens. Mince another clove of garlic and add it to a large skillet along with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté the garlic for a minute or so over medium heat, just to soften it a bit and take the raw edge off. Then add 8oz. of fresh spinach (or another green) and sauté just until it’s wilted, but still kind of plump. This happens quickly. Season with salt and pepper, then remove the greens from the heat.
Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain it in a colander, then return it to the pot with the heat turned off. Pour the sesame dressing over top and stir to combine.
Place the lid on the pot to keep the pasta warm. The pasta will continue to absorb the dressing as it sits.
Cook four eggs however you like–I think a runny yolk works extra well with this dish. I fried mine sunny side up, but soft boiling is another good option. If you’re not into runny yolks, scrambling works too! :) Stir the noodles once again to redistribute the dressing, then divide the noodles between four bowls. Add a scoop of the wilted greens to each, then top with a cooked egg. Now, dive in! :)
This was a perfect meal to have after Thanksgiving and a couple of days of those leftovers. It’s nice and light with a totally different flavor profile. I did cut the amount of the sesame oil to 1/2 TBSP for personal preference since I think it can be over powering. All around great recipe.
We eat this twice a month now. Sometimes with greens, sometimes with broccoli. Very good and versatile. Thank you!
Love this and love that it’s so versatile. My only minor critique which may be accounted for by a difference in tastes, is that 1tbsp of sesame oil for this amount of noodle was a lot. I know they are supposed to be sesame noodles but for me the sesame taste was overwhelming. However, when I made it again I cut the sesame oil in half and that was perfect for me. Will be making this often!
I made a full batch of this and packed it to bring to work for the week, and WOW! I subbed frozen thai chiles and soba noodles. I also added soft boiled eggs and a TON of extra garlic but now I’m scared to talk to my coworkers. I also included some homemade Vietnamese pickles and it is really spot on delicious, I wish I brought the whole batch!
I love this recipe for how simple yet nutritionally balanced it is. Money is pretty tight right now, so it has become my go to when I need to stretch my food another day or two before I go shopping again. I’ve used frozen spinach, frozen broccoli, or frozen peas for the greens since I generally have one of those around.
I love this recipe! It’s become a staple in our home because you can use really any veggies you need to use up and the noodles are delicious.
What is trottole ? Never heard of it.
I made a dish like this over the weekend with soba (buckwheat noodles). I threw in some more veggies (onion and celery) and didn’t even bother with adding a protein because the noodles have 11g per serving!
I keep seeing these AMAZING looking eggs in so many of your posts. Is there any way I can find out how you make them? I have a really hard time with overcooking the yolks trying to get the whites cooked! Please let me know your step by step!
Sure, it’s pretty easy! :) I just use a very small non-stick skillet (so the eggs don’t run all over the place) and make sure to have fresh eggs. The older the egg is, the more watery the whites get. I heat the skillet over medium flame first to get it hot, then add the egg and turn it down to medium-low. The lower heat gives the egg time to heat through and cook from the bottom up without over cooking the edges or the bottom. It just takes practice. :)
Thank you so much for this recipe. Tastes amazing. Ran out of rice vinegar, so I used apple cider vinegar instead (at a lesser amount because I don’t know what was it going to be like). Will be definitely doing this when we are in need of a super easy dinner with very little ingredients. Thanks Beth, once again :)
Love this recipe! It’s so easy and really tasty.
Made this for lunch today, it was bomb.
Really loved this recipe, thanks.
I used egg noodles instead of spaghetti, which tasted great. Next time I’ll try with spaghetti.
Greetings from Bert from The Netherlands.
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was so good. I had to use kale and lo mein noodles instead due to that being all we had on hand. But I made the sauce exactly how you wrote it. This is definitely something we will be making again. It was so fast to make, and baby spinach would have made it even easier. Even my toddler loved it. She actually ate some kale in order to get another serving of noodles.
Wow, this sounds perfect and very easy. (But definitely w scrambled eggs. Can’t stand runny yolks.)