Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Scallions

For this recipe, we use non-instant dried ramen (that is, not the kind sold 10 packages for a dollar). Ramen noodles get their golden hue from an alkali—not from egg—mixed into the dough. In addition to altering the color, the alkali makes the noodles chewier, bouncier and more resilient. These textural qualities mean that ramen is well-suited to noodle salads such as this one. Dried ramen is sometimes formed into squiggly-noodled bricks (similar to instant ramen) and sometimes spaghetti-straight strands. Noodles called chuka soba or chukamen will work, too. If Italian pasta is the only type of noodle available, see How to “Ramenize” Pasta. While you’re shopping for ramen, you may also want to look for containers of pre-toasted sesame seeds—they allow you to skip the step of toasting and cooling the seeds. If you like, toss shredded carrots or cucumber matchsticks into the noodles.