Chilled Noodles

 

I came across a recipe for Hiyashi Chuka, which, according to Wikipedia (I know!), was invented in 1937 by a Chinese restaurant in Japan adapted from liangbanmian (涼拌麵). It was originally called ryanbanmyen (リャンバンミェン) and then became known as "hiyashi chuka" in the late 1950s.

The original recipe involves a lot of juilienned ingredients, which I don’t have and didn’t feel like going to the store for, so I just used dried (not instant) ramen and ham only. It’s the dressing that makes it what it is, and I have the ingredients. I did use raw sugar because that’s the only sugar I have. I don’t have rice vinegar, so I substituted with white wine vinegar. I love furikake, so I used that to give it a Japanese vibe.

• 3.5 oz (1 bundle) dried ramen, cooked according to instructions, drained, and rinsed in cold water
• 2 slices ham, cut into thin strips
• 1 tblsp soy sauce
• 2 tblsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tblsp water
• 1 tsp raw sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp furikake

1. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a mixing bowl.
2. Toss cool noodles and ham in the sauce.
3. Plate and sprinkle with furikake before serving.