Weather in hot summer months can often ruin one’s appetite. Apart from fresh salad and frozen drinks consumed here in the U.S., cold noodles make for a popular summer dish around the world because of the refreshing flavor and simple preparation process.
Below are three types of cold noodle dishes that can rejuvenate you on a hot summer night. Surprise your student by choosing the recipe of his/her region or have fun trying out new tastes!
Beijing Sesame Paste Cold Noodle (Northern China)
INGREDIENTS
• ½ Ib egg noodles
• ½ cucumber, shredded
• ½ carrot, shredded
• 1 tsp mashed garlic
• 3 ½ tbs cold water
• 2 tbs sesame paste
• 1 tbs rice vinegar
• 1½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp sesame oil
DIRECTIONS
Noodles:
1. Boil the egg noodles for about 3 minutes; take them out and allow to cool.
2. Blend in ¼ tsp of sesame oil to the cooled-down noodles and set aside.
Sesame paste:
3. Slowly blend cold water into sesame paste; then add sugar, salt, rice vinegar and soy sauce to paste.
4. Add mashed garlic and remaining sesame oil to the diluted sesame paste.
Serve:
5. Place shredded cucumber and carrot on top of noodles; add sesame paste to taste.
6. You can also add a cooked meat of your choice to this dish if you prefer (e.g. roasted chicken, BBQ beef, boiled seafood etc.).
Sichuan Spicy Cold Noodle (Southwest China)
INGREDIENTS
• ½ Ib fresh ramen noodles
• 1 oz mung bean sprout
• ½ cucumber, shredded
• 1 scallion leaf, chopped
• 1 tbs rice vinegar
• ¼ tsp Hua Jiao/Sichuan Pepper powder (What is this, you ask? Literally, it translates to flower pepper; it is a small grain-shaped spice commonly used in Sichuan cuisine. Click here for Wikipedia explanation. You can find the powder in any Asian market)
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs red chili pepper oil
• ¼ tsp sesame oil
• 3 tbs garlic & ginger water (To prepare this, blend 1 tbs mashed garlic, ½ tbs mashed ginger, ¼ tsp salt into ¼ cup cold water. Let rest for at least an hour)
• ¼ cup fried soybean or peanut (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Noodles:
1. Boil the noodles for about 3 minutes, then immediately transfer to cold water; allow to cool.
Sauce
2. Blend rice vinegar, Sichuan pepper powder, sugar, soy sauce, red chili pepper oil, sesame oil and garlic & ginger water together to make the sauce.
Serve:
3. Cover noodles in sauce to taste, garnish with shredded bean sprout, cucumber, scallion and fried soybean or peanut.
Korean Cold Noodle (Korea and bordering Chinese Provinces)
INGREDIENTS
• ½ lb buckwheat soba noodle
• 1 slice beef shank
• ½ onion
• 6 pints cold water
• ½ apple of your choice, sliced
• ½ cucumber, sliced
• 2 oz kimchi
• ½ hard-boiled egg
• ½ tbs mashed ginger
• ½ tbs mashed garlic
• 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
• 1 tbs apple vinegar
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• Paprika (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Beef
1. Boil the beef shank for about 2 minutes, then add onion and simmer for about 90 minutes on low heat.
2. Take beef shank and onion out of “soup” water; allow the soup to cool and then put it into fridge for about an hour. At the same time, cut the beef shank into thin slices roughly ¼ inch thick, similar to the size of the sliced cucumber.
Noodles
3. Take another pot and boil the soba noodles for about 5 minutes. Then remove the noodles from pot and wash noodles with cold water. Repeat 2 or 3 times until noodles cool.
Soup
4. Pour the refrigerated beef soup into bowl and blend in apple vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, mashed ginger and mashed garlic.
Serve
5. Place noodles, kimchi, cucumber slices, apple slices, beef slices and the half hard-boiled egg into the soup. Sprinkle some white sesame seeds and add paprika to taste.
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