QUICK & SIMPLE RECIPE – DAISO COLD NOODLES WITH A TWIST

Hi there,

Do you like cold Japanese soba? cold springy noodles soaked in flavourful dashi sauce. Great for a hot sunny day to relief you from the heat. So how about Japanese Cold Noodles with a Twist and even better, a quick & simple recipe.

As I mentioned in my previous post I am a big fan of Daiso and always on the lookout for their products. I got another good buy this time.

I have always like Hiyashichuka, which is Japanese cold or chilled noodles, but ironically Japanese people call it Chinese Cold Noodles. However, they are somewhat different from normal soba, actually if you have it in Japan, they are usually like ramen noodles but in chilled form. It usually comes with heaps of colorful toppings, with a refreshing citrusy tangy flavourful dressing on it.

I think this product is good for people who like cold noodles with a twist, it is practically a hybrid between a salad and noodles. I use to love it during my school days because it is low calories and as I love salad too, this is a very satisfying meal that is healthy & filling and you can go very creative with this.

As time goes by, I have totally forgotten about this and usually just go for my ramen fix so I was very excited when I see this at Daiso.

On the packaging, it says Lemon Flavour, and comes with 2 packet of dressing with noodles. One pack is for 2 servings, but I really recommend you to have 3 people sharing it, as the portion can be quite large after you have added all the toppings. 🙂

Ingredients that you will need (for 3 pax):

• 1 pack of Daiso Hiyashichuka cold noodles
• Ham x 1 – 2 slices
• Cucumber x 1
• Egg x 1 (hard boiled or omelette)
• Fresh tomatoes x 1 large

In the photo what it didn’t show is that I also grilled some pork belly slices, which used as toppings for my family as they want to have that rather than ham.

This dish is very versatile, the proportion of the ingredients can varies. If you prefer more salad to noodles, feel free to change to however you like. But as a guide, I would say 60% – 70% noodles & 40% – 30% ingredients .

But when I really feel like a salad but also wanted something to be more filling, I will go 80% salad & 20% noodles.

Directions :

Very simple & quick recipe, all you need is

(1) Boil the noodles in hot boiling water for 3 mins or less if you want it to be more chewy.

(2) After noodles are cooked, immediately sieve it out from the hot water, and let it run under cold tap water until the starch are washed off and the noodles are no longer warm.

Another quick easy way, is to run under cold tap water for 10 secs, and then dunk it into a bowl of water with ice cubes in it, so it can be cooled down instantly.

To sum it up, the point here is to take the starch out and also to cool it, so that the noodles will become more springy.

(3) Sliced up all the toppings into thin slices or strips.

(4) Place the toppings on the noodles

(5) Drizzle the packet dressing over it, mixed it  & tuck in!

(Serve it with some mustard if you want some kick, this is usually done in Japan, just mix the yellow mustard with the soya sauce dressing and drizzle over)

Okay, how simple is that? A delicious meal that is healthy, tasty & quick. I actually timed myself while cooking this, and including running back forth to check on my son, it took me less than 15 mins to prepare this, and minimal to wash afterwards too. 

And when it comes to the taste test, I must say the noodles tasted really good, it was al dente and goes really well with the toppings. Although the texture is slightly different from the ramen noodles, nevetheless, it is springy enough and goes well with the ingredients.  

The sweetness of the tomatoes and the savory of the ham & eggs, plus the crunch from the cucumber all married nicely and strike a great balance both in taste and nutrient.

The sauce however although states is lemon flavor, I do not taste any citrusy flavor in it, I recommend you to squeeze some lemon juice over it. The dressing itself tasted like a mixture of soya sauce and sesame with some syrup in it. The original recipe if you make from scratch will require some white vinegar, soyasauce, sugar & some stock.

The only thing I find on the downside is that the dressing can be quite salty. So squeezing some lemon juice in it can perhaps cut the saltiness of it. (or you can always drizzle less)

My mum also tried it with warm noodles rather than cold, she find it okay, but I think this dish is still better to serve cold, because that’s the uniqueness of this recipe.

As for people who may not like cucumbers, you can opt for boiled bean sprouts too. For a Korean twist, why not put some kim chi. And the ham, can be replaced by grilled meat or seafood. A bit unconventional but why not if it tasted great. 🙂

If you want something different, you can also try drizzling with Japanese sesame salad dressing, or your preferred dressing.

You see, this dish is really easy to put together and taste marvellous. I just simply love hiyashichuka – Japanese cold noodles.

So next time when you head down to Daiso, remember to grab a pack 🙂

Happy Cooking!

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Cheers,

Dawn