I’m sure most everyone on the planet has tried a bowl of ramen, whether it’s the meticulously crafted ramen at a Japanese ramen restaurant or a Cup O Noodles. Cold ramen noodles are just as beloved in Japan (and in our house) as is the hot bowl of ramen. In our house we might actually make Hiyashi Chuka cold ramen more than we make hot ramen!

What is Hiyashi Chuka?

Hiyashi Chuka are ramen noodles layered with toppings like veggies, eggs and sausage mixed with a light savory soy-based sauce and served chilled. This dish is commonly enjoyed during the hot summer months (although we eat it year around in sunny southern California). Hiyashi Chuka translates to “Chilled Chinese” although the dish originated in Japan and borrows from Chinese, Korean and American flavors.

冷やし中華

Hi-ya-shi Chu-ka: Chilled Chinese

Cold ramen noodles are a perfect way to load up on healthy veggies

Cold ramen noodles are easy to make and can be made with as many different veggies and proteins as you like. We often will buy pre-made kimchi and pickled veggies from our favorite local Korean grocery store or just add veggies we already had in our refrigerator. This recipe for Hiyashi Chuka includes our homemade spinach salad with sesame (goma-ae), bean sprout salad, and cucumbers. You can make an extra batch of these salads and save each of them to add to bento boxes through out the week.

Hiyashi Chuka is easy to prepare and makes for a great packed lunch

This is the perfect ramen dish to make if you want to enjoy ramen on the go, but are not so excited about the kind instant ramen you survived off of in college. Since it is a cold ramen noodle salad, the noodles don’t get soggy and you can add fresh ingredients that will make this a balanced meal. I recommend picking toppings like pickled veggie (cucumbers, pickled bamboo or kimchi), egg (hardboiled or scrambled), and a protein (cubed firm tofu, sausages, or grilled chicken). With these ingredients, your noodles will not get overly soft and the flavors will meld into the noodles. If you are concerned about the noodles getting too soft in the sauce, pack that in a separate container and pour it over your ramen noodle salad when you are ready to eat.

Where to find cold ramen noodles

Hiyashi chuka ramen noodles are typically found in the refrigerator section of any asian grocery store. These are fresh ramen noodles, so they need to be refrigerated. However, if you don’t have an asian grocery store near you, then you can look for dry ramen noodles. We always use the Hiyashi Chuka ramen noodles found at our local Japanese Grocer because we like the fresh noodles and they always come with the pre-made sauce, making this the easiest Hiyashi Chuka.

How to make your own Hiyashi Chuka sauce

If you want to make your own cold ramen noodle sauce you will need (per serving):

• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1/2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp sugar or honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil

To make the Hiyashi Chuka cold ramen noodle sauce, simply combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pot and bring to boil (or honestly, microwave it for 1 minute!). Let the sauce cool as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Cold Ramen Noodles Recipe (Hiyashi Chuka)

Recipe by BeckiCourse: Noodles, Quick u0026amp; Easy Meals, SaladsCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Easy

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

2

minutes

Ingredients

• Cold Ramen

• 1 Hiyashi Chuka Ramen Noodle pack (in refrigerated section of your local Asian Grocery Store) or Dry Ramen Noodle (online and in any grocery store)

• 1 sauce pack or homemade Hiyashi Chuka Sauce (recipe above)

• Spinnach Salad W/ Sesame Dressing (Goma-ae)

• 1 bunch of fresh spinach (washed and trimmed)

• 3 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp mirin

• 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

• Bean Sprout Salad

• 1 cup fresh bean sprouts

• 1 tsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• salt and pepper to taste

• Egg Ommelete

• 1 egg

• Salt to taste

• 1 tsp sugar

• oil

• Additional Ingredients

• Sliced Cucumbers, tomatoes, and/or carrots

• Kurobuta Sausages

• Sesame Seeds

Directions

• Prepare your Hiyashi Chuka toppings first.
  Spinach Goma-ae: Par boil spinach in salt water for about 2 minutes until the spinach turns bright green then plunge in cold water bath to cool. Grind sesame seeds to a paste in a small Japanese style pestle. Add brown sugar, mirin and soy sauce to sesame paste to make goma-ae sauce. (Since the spinach gomaae dressing has mirin, and mirin has alcohol in it, you can boil the sauce mixture over the stove to ensure that the alcohol evaporates). Mix spinach and goma-ae sauce and add a small portion to your bento box. Save the rest in the refrigerator for another meal. I have more detailed instructions in my post: Spinach Salad With Japanese Salad Dressing (Gomaae).
• Bean sprout salad: Simply wash and dry bean sprouts and then mix all ingredients together.
• Omelette: Heat small frying pan with oil. Whisk eggs, salt and sugar in a bowl. Heat small skillet with oil. Pour egg into hot skillet and pan fry eggs. Flip egg omelette over when bottom side is done, then fold eggs in half to finish cooking. Remove from heat and cut into small 1/4 inch strips.
• Kurobuta Sausages: You can find Kurobuta Sausages at most asian grocery stores. to prepare, either cut the sausages into quarters and pan fry them for a few minutes to warm them up or you can get fancy with Chi Chi’s special Mr. Crab shaped “Kani san” sausages. To make the Mr. Crab sausage, slice the sausage length wise, then make two little cuts on each end to make the legs. Then pan fry sausage, about 2 minutes on each side.
• Prepare additional veggies. Slice cucumbers, tomatoes and any other fresh veggies you want to use into matchstick size slices.
• Hiyashi Noodles. Follow package instructions for either fresh noodles (boil for 2 minutes) or dry noodles (boil for 5-6) minutes. Drain noodles and plunge in an ice bath (bowl of water with lots of ice) until noodles are nice and cold. If using the Hiyashi sauce packet, follow instructions for
• To assemble your cold ramen, place 1 portion of noodles in a deep ramen bowl, add each topping one by one to cover the top of the noodles, then pour 1 sauce packet or about 1/4 cup of the Hiyashi Ramen Noodle Sauce (see above for home-made recipe).
• Sprinkle sesame seeds, serve and enjoy!