Friday, July 22, 2011

Summer of Cold Noodle: Hiyashi Chuka

Marrying a Japanese man, I've come to realize summer is synonymous with a bowl of cold noodles.You know you love them, so I'm starting (or at least attempting to start) a Friday mini-post-series on all the different kinds of cold noodle dishes to be had.

And of course I have to start with my all-time favorite: hiyashi chuka.

It's basically ramen noodles, served cold with a soy sauce/vinegar/sesame "dressing" and tons of random stuff piled on top. For my version I used packaged fresh noodles and packaged sauce (yep, that's how it goes around here), though there are recipes for chuka sauce online.  Toppings include cucumbers, carrots, tomato, microwaved egg and Sak's favorite Vienna sausage (usually this ought to be sliced ham).

They also sell this dish at our local Japanese grocery store, though I think finding your own ingredients to put on top is part of the fun of eating hiyashi chuka!

Do you have a favorite cold noodle dish? I'll say that outside of Japanese dishes - I'm still a bit of a novice, so lay on the suggestions!
at 10:00 AM
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5 comments:

  1. HannahJuly 22, 2011 at 10:07 AM

    I can't think of ever eating cold noodles. If I could get past the suspicious looking meat in this picture (Sak, I'm looking at you here!) I would LOVE to give it a try. It actually sounds like a great bagged lunch for work!

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  2. AlvinaJuly 22, 2011 at 10:40 AM

    It's 103.5° right now. Not turning on anything that produces in the kitchen sounds like a great idea!! Too bad Tim doesn't like to eat cold things. :oP Maybe today he will learn...

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  3. JenniferJuly 22, 2011 at 1:04 PM

    This is awesome!! The only cold noodles from my childhood in a Japanese home are soba and somen. (Midwestern hubby was not satisfied by somen, even with the nori, cucumbers, and ham.) I might have to give this a shot -- I need more cold dishes since we live in AZ! Thank you! (And, since I am Nissei, I am actually appetized by the suspicious looking meat!!)

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  4. MimiJuly 22, 2011 at 1:50 PM

    I heart cold noodles too! Give this one a try: http://lidamimi.wordpress.com/2010/09/04/breaks-over-back-to-good-food/

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  5. KristinJuly 23, 2011 at 9:43 PM

    Mmmmm, what a nice summer treat. Looks delicious! I suspect you guys are in for that type of thing out on the Peninsula. It's cold and foggy over here on the coast! I like soba - at first I didn't understand it. I mean, it's just so simple and bland. But I took my kids camping and we went to a soba making place and it took on a whole new life for me.

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