I enjoy cold noodle dishes in the summertime.
I saw a unique sauce recipe for the cold noodles in a Japanese cooking magazine, so I was inspired by it and arranged into my own version. This dish is quite spicy hot, so I like the feeling of all my senses stimulated as I eat it in the warm summer day.
Summer "Hot" Cold Noodle
Ingredients (1 serving)
1 serving Chinese egg noodles (I used "Hiyashi Chuka" noodle)
tofu
snow peas, blanched to crisp tender, sliced into thin strips
scallion, sliced into thin strips
tomato, cut into wedges
lime wedges
cilantro
pickled ginger ("kizami shoga")
ground sesame seeds
(Sauce)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon chunky la-yu (hot sesame oil)
1/2 tablespoon regular la-yu (or you can substitute it with sesame oil, if you like it less hot)
Procedure
1. Cook the noodles according to the package's instructions. Rinse in the running cold water. Drain.
2. Arrange the noodles in the center of a plate.
3. Arrange the tofu, snow peas, scallion, tomato, lime wedges, cilantro, and pickled ginger around the noodles.
4. Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce.
5. Serve the sauce on the side. Sprinkle the ground sesame seeds on the noodles, pour the sauce, and toss with the noodles. Enjoy with the rest of the ingredients on the plate (I like to lightly mix the ingredients with the noodles as I eat).
Wonderful lunch. This unique combination of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and la-yu for the sauce is surprisingly so good and so refreshing. Both the tofu and pickled ginger were my homemade, so the dish was especially tasty.
