49 replies to this topic

[annecros]

Welcome to the eGullet Recipe Cook-Off! Click here for the Cook-Off index.

This time, we're focusing on cold noodles, suggested by Society Member "Hiroyuki" as a great way to beat the Summer heat.

Some version of a cold noodle dish can be found in virtually any cusine in the world. Whether you've wanted to try your hand at Somen (Japanese cold noodles), Nang Myung (Korean), or Aunt Irene's Cold Pasta Salad let's go for it!

Let's talk about the various types of noodles and each one's virtues! Homemade vs. dried? Dressings and additions?

Nosing around the forums brought up several topics:

"Pasta Salad" the topic
"Cold Noodles w/ Szechuan v. Dan Dan Mein"
"Pasta Salad for Father's Day"
"Pasta Salad lacking Nuance"
"Nyang Mun (Naengmyun) Korean cold noodle dish"

RecipeGullet offers these great looking recipes:

"Cold Peanut Noodles"
"Orzo Salad with Apricots"
"Curried Macaroni Salad"

I am not familar with anything other than cold pasta salad with ranch dressing dumped on it (I know, I know, but my kids consider it the required side dish for BBQ) - so I am looking for cookbooks that can help me out. I am considering the following:

"The Noodle Cook Book: Delicious Recipes for Crispy, Stir-Fried, Boiled, Sweet, Spicy, Hot and Cold Noodles" by Hayto Kunumi
"Noodle" by Terry Durack and Geoff Lung
"James McNair's Cold Pasta" by James McNair
"Garde Manger, The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen" by The Cuinary Institute of America

Any other good cookbook suggestions out there?

Who's up for some cold comfort in July?

[Hiroyuki]

Thanks, Anne, for adopting my suggestion.
I'd like to contribute to this thread with not only somen but also other Japanese cold noodles like hiyamugi and udon, as well as hiyashi chuka and reisei (cold) spaghetti. I'll get to them one by one.

[annecros]

Thanks, Anne, for adopting my suggestion.
I'd like to contribute to this thread with not only somen but also other Japanese cold noodles like hiyamugi and udon, as well as hiyashi chuka and reisei (cold) spaghetti.  I'll get to them one by one.

I will communicate your thanks to the Kitchen Team, as it really is a group decision, and we all thought you had a great idea.

I am looking forward to your contributions and learning from you, and maybe you can answer a question I have. Are Asian noodles, as a rule, entirely different from pasta? It confuses me when I see recipes that call for spaghetti or vermicelli that are Asian. I know common knowledge says that the Chinese invented pasta, but are they truly identical and interchangable?

I am, confused.

[Jamie Lee]

I am on a massive thai kick right now.... anyone know of thai-inspired cold noodle dishes that they could share? Right now, of course, any hot noodle dish is a fine, albeit unintentional cold noodle dish for breakfast!

[jean_genie]

Are asian noodles, as a rule, entirely different from pasta? It confuses me when I see recipes that call for spaghetti or vermicelli that are Asian. I know common knowledge says that the Chinese invented pasta, but are they truly identical and interchangable?

Hi Anne,

I would separate pasta and 'Asian' noodles because they are quite different. Pasta and noodles have different textures (eg 'al dente' is desirable in pasta, but not necessarily so in noodles) and different cooking methods (eg noodles can be fried in its sauce or cooked in broth whereas pasta and its sauce tend to be cooked separately). Also different parts of Asia has different types of noodles - my observation has been that rice noodles tend to dominate in SE Asia whereas wheat noodles features a lot in Chinese and Japanese cuisine.

That said, there are many possibilities in the kitchen, and 'fusion' dishes are not uncommon these days.

:)

[dockhl]

I am really excited ! I lurk on this thread but have never contributed to it. No promises this time, either, but I hope to learn a lot

Perfect timing....it is supposed to be 100' here today (Tomorrow it is cooling down, 99' )

[Jensen]

I made a pasta salad as part of dinner tonight but between the white pasta, the white dressing, and the white plate, the photo was way over-exposed.

At any rate, I cooked some penne rigate until a little past al dente. It was drained and rinsed with cold water. For the dressing, I mixed a tablespoon of mayo, 3-4 T. of plain yogurt, 1 T. of dijon mustard, and then some sprinklings of tarragon. S & P, of course.

That was all mixed together (as well as some cornichons split lengthwise) and stored in the fridge until dinner.

The taste was exactly what I was going for but why, oh why, does the dressing clump up when it's refrigerated?

Tomorrow I'll be trying some naengmyun for lunch!

[Hiroyuki]

Are asian noodles, as a rule, entirely different from pasta? It confuses me when I see recipes that call for spaghetti or vermicelli that are Asian. I know common knowledge says that the Chinese invented pasta, but are they truly identical and interchangable?

Hi Anne,

I would separate pasta and 'Asian' noodles because they are quite different. Pasta and noodles have different textures (eg 'al dente' is desirable in pasta, but not necessarily so in noodles) and different cooking methods (eg noodles can be fried in its sauce or cooked in broth whereas pasta and its sauce tend to be cooked separately). Also different parts of Asia has different types of noodles - my observation has been that rice noodles tend to dominate in SE Asia whereas wheat noodles features a lot in Chinese and Japanese cuisine.

That said, there are many possibilities in the kitchen, and 'fusion' dishes are not uncommon these days.

:)

I think jean_genie put it really well. I wouldn't say they are entirely different, but they differ considerably in texture and flavor because of the difference in material (wheat, buckwheat, rice, etc. for Asian noodles and durum wheat for pasta). On the question of whether they are interchangeable, I personally say no, because they usually require different preparations and seasonings. One big difference in preparation is that Japanese noodles do not require salt when cooked in boiling water while pasta does. Another difference is that cookin al dente is not at all necessary for Japanese noodles.

I think I'll make reisei (cold) spaghetti for supper tomorrow and report back.

[annecros]

OK, so there are actual differences in the product (type of wheat) in addition to the preparation method. Thanks guys.

Jamie Lee, I don't have a Thai cold noodle recipe for you, but have been known to eat Thai noodles cold right out of the fridge standing over the sink the next day!

When I was discussing the cookoff with hubby yesterday, he mentioned that his Oma (he was born in Freidberg en Hessen) used to serve spaetzle cold with a sort of cold and savory cherry/pepper "soup" that was actually a sauce. Is anybody out there familiar with this sort of preparation? I googled it, but had a hard time finding specifics. With all the cherries in the markets now, it might make for something interesting and tasty.

[Khadija]

I love cold noodle dishes, and often whip them up with whatever is on hand. Yesterday, I made a sort of pad-Thai-ish cold noodle dish, with leftovers.

The strange part of the dish was the sauce. I was out of both tamarind and vinegar, and needed a sour component. I had some leftover raisin/caper emulsion in the fridge. I thinned it out with some water and added A LOT of fish sauce, fresh lime juice, chili, and a small touch of sugar.

I brined some frozen shrimp, and sauteed with lots of minced garlic and ginger, then set aside. In the same pan (with bits of garlic and ginger), cooked some beaten eggs in "crepe" form, which I cut into ribbons when cool and set aside. Julienned a lot of green mango and cucmber with a mandoline. Crushed peanuts in mortar and pestle.

Soaked some rice noodles (the wide, flat ones), until slightly softened, but very firm, and coated with oil. Fried the noodles in wok, and added the sauce. Let cool, ad then tossed with the shrimp, egg, mango, cucumber, and peanuts. Generous squeeze of lime juice and lots of fresh cilantro. A nice Sunday lunch.

[Khadija]

Another cold (room temperature) pasta dish I made recently:

Made dressing of minced garlic, rice vinegar, olive oil and salt. Tossed with a pound of cooked farfalle, and let marinate for awhile. Before serving, tossed pasta with diced bacon (cooked), finely chopped shallot, finely chopped sundried tomatoes, lightly blanched green peas, toasted pinenuts, generous amount of fresh parm, and fresh basil.

Edited by Khadija, 23 July 2007 - 07:57 AM.

[annecros]

Another cold (room temperature) pasta dish I made recently:

Made dressing of minced garlic, rice vinegar, olive oil and salt.  Tossed with a pound of cooked farfalle, and let marinate for awhile.  Before serving, tossed pasta with sauteed, diced bacon, finely chopped shallot, finely chopped sundried tomatoes, lightly blanced green peas, toasted pinenuts,  generous amount of fresh parm, and fresh basil.

Yum, that sounds so cool and green.

I usually use salami in pasta salads, but bacon would be tasty and add some crunch, I imagine.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I love cold noodles!

my favorite cold Asian noodles have to be the Korean style ones... I just love ice cold kimchee sesame oil and seeds mixed into buckweat or shirataki noodles...

Chop chae is great food for a potluck.. glass noodles, sesame, green onions, beef, black mushrooms ..I make this one all the time

there is also a ..the ice cold ..very popular in the summer Korean soup (that I can not remember the name right now ..argh.I am sorry) ..the broth is served so ice cold it has ice cubes in it...very chewy noodles ..micro sliced beef and veggies on top .sometimes a sliced hardboiled egg...served with white vinegar and mustartd....it is a refreshing endless slurp! ...I love that soup!

in fact I am due for some now ...and this thread is inspiring me... so I will go have some this week and then come back and make it

[Jensen]

Well, this cook-off obviously came at the perfect time for me! It inspired pasta salad last night and cold noodle salad for lunch today.

My starting point for today's naengmyun (or reasonable facsimile thereof) was this post:

naengmyun

The local Raley's doesn't have buckwheat noodles so I opted to go with Japanese udon noodles instead. I really should have re-read SheenaGreena's post before making the sauce because I made mine just out of gochujang (affectionately known in my brain as MCP, or "magic chile paste", due to its "anti-obesitic properties") and soy sauce, combined in equal parts.

I also have no Korean-style pickles so I saved some chilled green beans from last night's dinner and added them to the mix.

Here are the ingredients for two servings, assembled:



Just before serving, I drizzled each bowl with sesame oil and garnished with sesame seeds:



Fabulous!

[hummingbirdkiss]

I can not imagine a better looking dish!!! it is fabulous!!!

thank you for sharing!!

[annecros]

That looks great Jensen! About how long did it take, start to finish?

[Hiroyuki]

I changed my mind and made hiyashi chuka instead.

Ingredients:
Fake crab meat
Kinshi tamago (made by first making a thin sheet of fried egg and then shredding it)
Tomatoes
Boiled enoki mushroom
Wakame seaweed
Shredded green shiso (perilla leaves)
Shredded cucumbers

It took me almost an hour to make this single dish!


I asked my children to assemble all the ingredients together to make theirs.

Mine:


Sorry for the very poor presentation.

We also had cold tofu and edamame (young soy beans). I had beer too (to be more precise, cheaper, third-category (malt-free) beer ).

[annecros]

Don't apologize for that! I think it looks lovely.

What are perilla leaves, and what do they bring to the dish? What do they taste like?

[Hiroyuki]

Don't apologize for that! I think it looks lovely.

What are perilla leaves, and what do they bring to the dish? What do they taste like?

A description of perilla leaves can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perilla
They are refreshing! But I must add that they are usually not used in hiyashi chuka. I added them simply because I like them and I can get plenty of them from my tiny vegetable garden at this time of the year.

[Pam R]

Hiroyuki - what type of noodles are those (wheat, rice, etc.)? It looks lovely.

[Chufi]

Inspired by the cook/off, we had some cold noodles today. The dressing was based on the 2 cold noodle recipes in eGullet mentioned above. I just mixed tahini, sesame oil, peanutbutter, rice wine vinegar, and sriracha together until it looked and tasted good. Besides that, it's just noodles and cucumber and some sesame seeds. Really lovely.
It did stick together during the hour or so I kept it waiting before dinner. It seems those noodles can go on absorbing dressing forever! I added a splash of cold water just before serving, just to thin everything and make the dish slippery again instead of stodgy.

Edited by Chufi, 24 July 2007 - 10:54 AM.

[hsm]

Sorry there's no camera around at the moment, but lunch sounds very similar to Chufi's, if not as prettily plated. My sauce also included soy and fish sauces, bit of hoisen, mirin, hot chili oil, garlic chili paste and some fresh Thai basil. (Now you can picture the inside door of my fridge. )

Looking forward to seeing more ideas. So far, so delicious.

[snowangel]

Klary, did you dress the noodles while warm or did you give them a cold water bath first?

[Chufi]

Klary, did you dress the noodles while warm or did you give them a cold water bath first?

yes, I rinsed them with cold water, and did not dress them until they were cold. I know from experience that dressing them warm makes an even bigger noodleclump They still absorbed a lot of dressing though!

[Jensen]

That looks great Jensen! About how long did it take, start to finish?

About ten minutes. While the noodles were cooking, I assembled all the other ingredients. Then it was just a matter of tossing it all together.

[Hiroyuki]

Hiroyuki - what type of noodles are those (wheat, rice, etc.)?  It looks lovely.

Hiyashi chuka noodles , which are the same as ramen noodles (wheat flour plus kansui (brine water)).

In Japan, hiyashi chuka (lit. chilled Chinese) is served in most ramen shops in the summer only, although some shops put it on their menu all year round.

As Chufi says, rinsing throughly immediately after boiling is a required step in making a cold noodle dish, or the intended texture (pleasant chewiness) will be lost. I rub the noodles against each other with my both hands to remove the slime from the surface in cold water and repeat this step at least three times until the slime is gone and the noodles are cooled enough.

I forgot to mention the tare (sauce). I used the soy-based sauce that came with the hiyashi chuka noodles. Ground sesame seed-based sauce is also popular. If you are an adventurous eater and wish to try umeboshi sauce, here is a recipe by
Shinju:

Ume tsuyu for hiyashi chuka or salad dressing - 2 umeboshi (minced), 2 T sugar, 2 T rice vinegar, 3 T shoyu, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 1/2 C water - combined.

Also, you can find some information from here.

Edited to add:
Hiyashi chuka should look something like these. Please forget my poorly presented version.

Edited by Hiroyuki, 24 July 2007 - 03:59 PM.

[Hiroyuki]

One more thing: I always season the hiyashi chuka (i.e., add the sauce to the noodles) after serving on the table. Anyway, I don't want to have hiyashi chuka that is seasoned tens of minutes before serving because the noodles will already be "stale" by then, absorbing all the sauce. Probably the Japanese are more particular about the quality of noodle dishes than other nations.

[Dianne]

Here is my (very non-traditional) Vietnamese style noodle salad. There really are noodles under all that chicken and veg.You can see a little peeking out in the lower right corner.



And look at the lovely tomatoes. The field tomatoes are finally here.

[Khadija]

An old favourite last night.

I still had some of that raisin/caper emulsion (usually, I would just use vinegar and sugar here, but I wanted to get rid of the raisin/caper stuff). I tossed it into the blender, along with a BIG handful of peanuts, sesame oil, sirricha, minced garlic, minced ginger, and some boxed chicken broth. Blended until smooth.

Cooked some dried chinese wheat noodles, only until very shy of al dente, rinsed well in cold water. Added enough peanut sauce until the noodles were "swimming."

Cooked some egg "crepes" with shallots, and cut crepes into ribbons. Julienned leftover chinese sausage and green onion, and heated together just enough to wilt the onion. Julienned LOTS of cucumber with mandoline.

Then I fried the noodles until they absorbed almost all the sauce and set them aside to cool. When the noodles were cool, I added some more sesame oil, along with the egg, sausage, green onion, and cucumber. Topped with more julienned cucumber, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.

I find that, when making cold noodle dishes, if the sauce is quite fatty, cooking the (undercooked) noodles in the sauce is a good way to get them to absorb the sauce, and get coated with enough oil that they don't stick together. The resulting noodles are not "saucy," they appear dry, but don't stick. They are full of flavour. I'm not sure if this method is traditional, but it works for me.

[Hiroyuki]

It was such a hot day today that I didn't want to do much cooking. So, I decided to make hiyamugi (wheat noodles thicker than somen) for supper tonight.


Left to right: Udon, hiyamugi, which I used today, somen, another somen, and soba.


I bought some tuna sashimi and squid cutlets. Instead of making dipping sauce for hiyamugi, I used men tsuyu (noodle soup) concentrate. Pan-fried maitake mushroom was the only dish I made for supper.

Closeup of hiyamugi:

I know that the photos are not worthy of posting here, but I just wanted to show you how hiyamugi is eaten in an ordinary Japanese home.

Edited to add a bit of noodle consumption in Japan.

While udon (thickest wheat noodles) and soba are consumed all year around, hiyamugi and somen are mainly consumed in the summer. In Japan, all these types of noodles are regarded as shushoku (staple food), like rice and bread, not as a side dish.

Hiyamugi vs. somen

I much prefer hiyamugi to somen, because it is what I grew up with. (My father prefers hiyamugi). Unfortunately for me, my wife and children all prefer somen, so I haven't had much hiyamugi since I got married. I once googled and found that more Japanese prefer somen to hiyamugi... I just can't believe this! Hiyamugi is thicker and therefore more substantial and tasty, while somen is too thin to savor its texture or flavor, in my opinion.

Edited by Hiroyuki, 27 July 2007 - 04:41 AM.