May 6, 2012

冷やし中華 Hiyashi Chuka

A typical summer dish in Japan is Hiyashi Chuka, which literally means Cold Chinese (noodles). Basically it is a cold noodle dish with lots of colorful topping. The most traditional combination is tomatos, cucumber, eggs and ham. It comes with yummy sauce too.

During the last days Munich had summery weather and I decided to make Hiyashi Chuka for dinner. In Japan we would use special Chinese noodles for this dish but since I am living in Munich it's not easy to get a hold of them. I use normal spaghetti pasta with a bit of a twist.

Here is my quick way of making Hiyashi Chuka


Noodles:
Overcook the spaghetti (1-2 minutes more than the usual) in the way you usually cook, but add a tbs of "Natron" to make the pasta a bit more like Chinese noodles. After the noodles are boiled, make sure to rinse them with cold water. It gives the nice texture to the pasta.


Topping:
Basically you can have any topping you like. The more color the merrier. I put ham this time but of course it could be a vegeterian version as well :) I like sprinkling some sesame seeds on the very top.

Sauce:
Lemon juice
Sesami oil (can also add a bit of sesami or even Tahin)
Soysauce
Vinegar (sour ones are better than something like Balsamico)
You can adjust the ratio according to your liking.

I am sure I would be making this dish quote often during summer months ;)


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