Hiyashi Chuka – cold Ramen salad with yuzu soy sauce & sesame dressing

Hiyashi Chuka is a summery ramen noodle dish packed with fresh garden vegetables. It’s a refreshing cold salad with ice-cold ramen noodles and colourful toppings. A tangy soya sauce with yuzu juice and a homemade sesame dressing round off this Japanese summer recipe perfectly!

Hiyashi Chuka recipe image

Hiyashi Chuka can literally be translated as ‘chilled Chinese’ and is a Japanese main course that is very popular in late summer. The recipe is also often referred to as ‘Reimen’ (meaning ‘cold noodles’) – particularly in the Kansai region – or as ‘Hiyashi Ramen’ (roughly ‘cold ramen’) in Hokkaido.

The recipe for Hiyashi Chuka has been known in Japan since the early Showa period. There are various theories about the actual origin of this cold Ramen noodle salad. The best-known account traces back to Yoshio Yotsukura, the founder of the Chinese restaurant Ryutei in the Japanese city of Sendai: Back then, unlike today, Chinese restaurants did not have air conditioning.

Furthermore, Chinese food, which is considered particularly oily, heavy and spicy, tends to be avoided during the hot summer months in Japan. Yoshio Yotsukura therefore set about developing a cold noodle dish that would be enjoyed even in hot weather. In 1937, he was inspired to create a refreshing variation on his hot noodle soup: ice-cold Ramen, served in a light broth with soya sauce and served with fresh, tangy vegetables. Since then, Hiyashi Chuka has become a culinary tradition in Japan during the summer and has long been a favourite with everyone!

This cold summer salad is served with Chinese ramen noodles chilled in ice water. In my vegetarian version, I add fresh vegetables cut into strips and a sweet Japanese omelette. These accompaniments are arranged in a circle on top of the ramen noodles, which is very reminiscent of a replica of Mount Fuji.

Hiyashi Chuka recipe

Today we’re using colourful summer vegetables, which you may even have grown in your own garden. So: cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and golden sweetcorn. We’re also going for traditional Chinese bamboo shoots, pickled ginger (Beni Shoga) and a slightly sweet omelette (see the recipe for tamagoyaki). However, you can also use homemade roast pork (see the recipe for Japanese chashu), some cooked ham, grilled chicken breast or ready-to-cook seafood such as surimi.

The biggest difference between a normal ramen noodle soup and hiyashi chuka is, of course, that the noodles are served ice-cold.

Fresh, homemade ramen noodles are my first choice for this – you can find my recipe here:Make your own ramen noodles – traditional recipe with kansui

Making your own ramen noodles – Step 13: Done

Alternatively, you can buy Japanese ramen noodles (im Shop ansehen) and prepare Hiyashi Chuka in no time at all!

Once the noodles have been cooked, they are immediately rinsed in a bowl of plenty of ice-cold water and then thoroughly drained. The noodles must be allowed to cool completely. This preserves their texture and ensures they absorb the soup very well when added. To prevent the noodles, which have been rinsed with water, from sticking together straight away, the noodles are tossed with sesame oil. For a bit of flavour, add a good handful of spring onions, sliced into rings.

The ramen noodles and accompaniments are served in a slightly spicy sauce made from soy sauce and Mirin. We add a tangy, fruity note with a little yuzu juice and rice vinegar . But a little spicy kick is a must: that’s why the fresh, grated ginger and a touch of Korean gochujang chilli paste are sure to delight you!

The salad is rounded off with a homemade sesame dressing made with Japanese mayonnaise, sesame paste and sesame oil, as well as a touch of spicy karashi mustard, which further enhances the flavour of the yuzu soy sauce.

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As you’ll notice, this recipe, which seems so simple at first glance, is full of little aromatic surprises. You’ll find every single step of the preparation here in the detailed recipe – I hope you have lots of fun and enjoy making this light Hiyashi Chuka Ramen noodle salad:

Hiyashi Chuka recipe image

Hiyashi Chuka

serves 2 | 30 minutes | 667 kcal

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Hiyashi Chuka is a summery ramen noodle dish packed with fresh garden vegetables. It’s a refreshing salad featuring ice-cold ramen noodles and colourful toppings. A tangy soya sauce with yuzu juice and a homemade sesame dressing round off this Japanese summer recipe perfectly!


Ingredients (2 portions)

For the chilled ramen noodles:
2 portions of ramen noodles (im Shop ansehen) or make your own (to the recipe)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 spring onion

For the spicy yuzu Shoyu sauce:
50 ml soy sauce (im Shop ansehen)
50 ml Mirin (im Shop ansehen)
3 tbsp yuzu juice
3 tbsp rice vinegar (im Shop ansehen)
1/2 tsp gochujang (im Shop ansehen)
20 g ginger (fresh)

For the sesame dressing:
5 tbsp mayonnaise (im Shop ansehen)
1 tbsp tahini (sesame paste) (im Shop ansehen)
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp sesame seeds (toasted) (im Shop ansehen)

Accompaniments:
2 eggs (size M)
1 tbsp Mirin (im Shop ansehen)
1 tbsp oil (e.g. sunflower oil)
1 cucumber
1 tomato
1 carrot
a few bamboo shoots (im Shop ansehen)
a little sweetcorn (tinned)

Topping:
Karashi mustard (im Shop ansehen)
Beni Shoga (red pickled ginger) (im Shop ansehen)


Method (30 minutes)

Hiyashi Chuka ingredients

Step 1

Prepare the ingredients for the homemade Hiyashi Chuka.


Hiyashi Chuka step 2: Grate the ginger

Step 2

First, we’ll prepare the sauce and the dressing: To do this, peel the fresh ginger and grate it finely (for example, using a fine kitchen grater).


Hiyashi Chuka Step 3: Prepare the yuzu soy sauce

Step 3

To make the savoury sauce, mix together soya sauce, Mirin, yuzu juice, rice vinegar, gochujang and the grated ginger in a bowl.


Hiyashi Chuka Step 4: Prepare the sesame dressing

Step 4

Next, for the dressing, mix mayonnaise, tahini, sesame oil, water and toasted sesame seeds in a second bowl. Place the yuzu soy sauce and the sesame dressing in the fridge.


Hiyashi Chuka Step 5: Boil the water for the noodles

Step 5


In a large saucepan, bring water to the boil for the ramen noodles (one litre of water per portion of noodles).

Hiyashi Chuka Step 6: Prepare the omelette

Step 6

In the meantime, let’s prepare the accompaniments: To do this, whisk the eggs with Mirin . Then heat a large, flat frying pan with the oil over a medium to high heat and pour in the egg mixture so that it covers the base of the pan.


Hiyashi Chuka Step 7: Prepare the omelette

Step 7

As soon as the egg has almost completely set on the surface, flip the omelette. Remove from the pan after no more than one minute, fold it roughly and then cut it into fine strips.


Hiyashi Chuka Step 8: Cutting the garnishes

Step 8

Now wash the remaining accompaniments (cucumber, tomato, carrot and bamboo shoots), peel them if necessary, and cut them into fine strips about 5 cm long. Also, drain the sweetcorn .


Hiyashi Chuka Step 9: Cook the noodles

Step 9

Add the ramen noodles to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes (or according to the cooking instructions on the packet). Then drain in a sieve and rinse thoroughly with ice-cold water. The noodles must be completely cooled. Then drain them through the colander again and transfer them to a larger bowl.
Wash the spring onions , pat them dry and slice them into fine rings. Add the spring onion rings and the sesame oil to the ramen noodles and mix everything together thoroughly.


Serving Hiyashi Chuka – Step 10

Step 10

Divide the cold ramen noodles between bowls or deep plates and arrange them with the accompaniments in a pyramid shape . Then pour the yuzu soy sauce over the top.


Hiyashi Chuka ready

Step 11

To finish, garnish the ready-made Hiyashi Chuka with beni shoga and karashi mustard, and serve alongside the sesame dressing for guests to add to taste. Ready – Itadakimasu!


Hiyashi Chuka cover photo

Are you looking for even more delicious Ramen recipes from Japan? Here you’ll find my most popular Ramen dishes:

Has anyone tried this recipe yet? Let me know in the comments – I’m really looking forward to hearing from you.

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