How To Make Chinese Cold Noodles
May 23rd, 2009 by admin
Whenever the weather becomes warmer, I feel like eating lighter and more refreshing dishes. After making zaru soba and sampling two delicious cold appetisers (five-spiced beef salad and spicy potato slivers) at Ba Shan last week, I was in the mood for more.
So I turned to Ken Hom’s recipe for a street snack, Chinese cold noodles. I own just one Ken Hom book (bought from a secondhand book stall!) as I think his style generally has become too Americanised. This one though, The Taste of China, I enjoyed reading because it was written in 1989 after a lengthy ‘traveleating’ journey around China, with informative sections on the role of food in Chinese culture and history, useful descriptions of ingredients, as well as recipes based on what he discovered.
I also chose to replicate this Sichuan-influenced recipe (not that dissimilar to dan dan mian) because he first ate these noodles at Wangfujing night market (click here to see my photos from last year) in Beijing. I used to go there too when I lived there in the mid-90s, although it must have been completely different when Hom visited, with far less culinary options. He does point out though that the night markets offered better food than most of the state-owned restaurants. To quote from Hom: ‘Like most of the food stall offerings, this dish is easily made, can be served at room temperature and is a pleasure to eat’. I totally agree!
Wangfujing Leng Mian (Wangfujing Cold Noodles)
Ingredients: (serves 4 as part of a Chinese meal or 2 as a single dish)
I’ve written the recipe out exactly as it appears in the book, but adapted the quantities.
- 450g / 1lb fresh or dried Chinese egg noodles (I’m not sure whether this is a mistake, but I only needed to use 2 portions of noodles weighing 45g each and it was plenty for lunch for two!)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 450g / 1lb cucumbers (I used half a normal-sized cucumber)
- 175g / 6oz fresh bean sprouts (I used 150g)
Sauce -
- 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic (you may not want to quite use so much, as it will be added raw. But I did, and it was excellent)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2½ tbsp sesame paste or peanut butter (I didn’t have Chinese sesame paste, so used tahini instead. Tahini isn’t as strong though, so it’s best to stick with Chinese sesame paste)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp white rice vinegar
- 2 tsp chilli oil
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar (I didn’t have this, but it’s used as a garnish to sprinkle on top at the end, to counter the spiciness of the dish)
What to do next:
Boil noodles according to instructions, drain, rinse in cold water and toss immediately in sesame oil.
Peel and slice cucumbers in half lengthways, and remove the seeds using a teaspoon. Cut into fine long shreds. Rinse bean sprouts and drain.
Mix sauce ingredients together in a bowl or in a blender (I did the former as I don’t like blended sauces. Also, try the sauce and adjust the flavour to your own taste. I thought it needed a little more soy sauce, so the quantity for light soy sauce might be incorrect too).
When you are ready to serve, toss the noodles with the sauce, cucumber and bean sprouts. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and serve immediately.
The fresh bean sprouts and cucumber are a refreshing contrast to the spicy sesame sauce. I hope you’ll like this little gem! It’s going to be a favourite in this household for the next few months…
More Chinese recipes on World Foodie Guide can be found here.
Such a fresh looking dish with wonderful flavours. The only cold noodles I had were soba and spicy Korean cold noodle. Might give this a go in this kind of weather!
This sounds wonderful and a definite must-try. I have Chinese egg noodles but they are flat and a bit darker in color than the ones you have pictured here – are there different kinds and if so, is there something in particular I should look for (a specific ingredient or a name)? It looks delicious and perfect for a summer meal.
Oh goodness, you have made me put together a shopping list so I need to run to the market. The dish looks so refreshing and delicious. It reminds me of the noodle shops I saw in Hong Kong, and I have to say, I could have had those noodles morning noon and night. Come to think of it I may have tried one time.
pigpigscorner – I’ve had zaru soba and Japanese hiyashi chuka, which is one of my favourites for the summer! Must make it next week…
Tangled Noodle – I’m not sure actually (perhaps it’s to do with the quality?). I don’t usually buy egg noodles because the husband isn’t too keen on them, but he loved these. I thought they were delicious too. I also bought the thick ones to try. The brand is Sao Tao (the egg noodles are non-fried), and the URL is http://www.sunshunfuk.com.hk
OysterCulture – I hope you enjoy these! Really simple to make and refreshing. You can of course adjust the spiciness to suit your taste…
Helen Yuet Ling
I don’t mind a bowl of that right now! Weather’s been mercilessly hot
Looks like a nice and simple, happy, meal to share.
Sometimes the Korean grocery near me has nice big fat soy-bean sprouts and I’m thinking they would be very nice like this.
That looks like a good starter for the Underground Restaurant.
The Little Teochew – me too, I feel like a bowl right now! Have been outside for the last three days and this would really cool me down.
Tess – thanks Tess. It’s so simple to make and you can adjust the spiciness to suit individual tastes!
MsMarmitelover – hope it will be popular! Remember to get the Chinese sesame paste though. It’s made with toasted sesame seeds, while tahini is made from raw seeds, so the taste is completely different, as I’ve learnt…
Helen Yuet Ling
i remember seeing the insect bbq sticks from this markets.
aw… beijing, i want to go back and tour around by foot, last time i went to visit my friend, ate so much but travel by car…
I really must eat more cold noodle dishes because I absolutely love them. I’ll give this a try. I’ve not come across Chinese sesame paste either so I’m keen to try.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, I belief the Japanese cold noodle is originated from Chinese. I just made the Japanese version tonight as it is very hot here in Basel. Your noodle reminds me that Shanghai vegetarian restaurant in Hong Kong where they bring all sauces and you mix it yourself : )
Thanks for pointing out the difference between Tahini and Chinese Sesame paste.
I think those are the noodles my wife always bought at Carrefour (though slight variation with some sponge thing and peanuts in it and a lot of 辣椒). Might try to make this for my parents…they’ll probably like it.
suzie – it’s not a bad food market (bit touristy) though I remember going to a huge one back in 1996. But I can’t remember where it was…
Helen – you can add anything you like in terms of vegetables. I just followed his recipe to see how it would turn out. Try the zaru soba recipe too, though that has nothing except noodles and a dipping sauce.
Janet – you beat me to it with the hiyashi chuka! I used to eat it a lot as a student in London, but I’ve never made it. Kung Tak Lam is the Shanghai vegetarian restaurant (we went in October) and we also had those noodles! I made the wrong dipping sauce combination though, so it didn’t taste that great.
Chinamatt – there must be a million types of egg noodles! These are quite tasty though. Hope your parents like it…
Helen Yuet Ling