Cold noodles

Summer is here – with a vengeance. Rainy season has basically finished, and the temp has settled into the mid-30s every day. I awoke yesterday morning at 4.30am (it gets light – and hot - then) to the first cicadas of the season.

In this weather, I avoid the kitchen as much as possible, but man cannot live on ice cream alone! So, cold noodles are easy to cook and eat on hot, humid nights. I love hiyashi chuuka (it translates roughly as cold chinese noodles). It has a vinegar and soy sauce, which is refreshing and easy to eat.

Natsubate – summer sickness – is a big topic in the news every summer, as people become listless and lose their appetite. It's been worse since the Fukushima reactor disaster last year - this is our second summer of "setsuden", or energy saving. We're supposed to avoid using the airconditioner in the middle of the day, which is of course, when you need it the most! Vinegar is believed to stimulate the appetite again, and noodles are light on the stomach. 

The main toppings are usually thin strips of ham, omelette, cucumber and green onion, plus shiso leaves if you like, but you can use anything. When I want to make it “fancy”, I use strips of char siu pork or boiled prawns (that’s shrimp to my American friends). Oh, and don’t forget the bright  red “beni shoga”, pickled ginger. The variety of different colours and flavours on the plate will make even the most listless of eaters enthusiastic again.

The sauce / soup is a simple mix of water, equal parts rice vinegar and sugar, soy sauce and a drop of sesame oil.

Honestly, it tastes better than it looks.

A similar dish uses a sesame sauce (I cheat and buy sesame sauce at the supermarket). It’s also delicious and a little spicy, often garnished cold chicken, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and chili flakes.

Here's one from the convenience store, with sesame sauce, chicken, bean sprouts, etc.

The key to tasty noodles is to cook according to the instructions in lots of water (usually about 3 mins for ramen noodles) and rinse thoroughly. I wash them as if I’m washing my hands – you want to get that starch off. They’ll start off feeling soft and slimy and become firmer as you wash.

Another dish borrowed from China is jyajyamen or jajamen; ramen noodles (or udon if you like) with a cold, spicy sauce of ground pork and red miso. You can find recipes online (I confess, I buy the sauce ready made, because it’s a bit of a faff).

I used thicker noodles this time - a kind of udon. The spicy pork and miso sauce is delicious.

Somen is even easier and comes with a dashi-based dipping sauce and a plate of grated ginger, thinly sliced green onion, sliced myoga, etc. and some toppings like cold chicken, okra, cucumber, omelette or whatever you fancy.

Cold udon is delicious with grated daikon, grated ginger, some shredded shiso leaves and some crunchy tempura bits (which you can buy really cheaply, about 50 yen for a bag), and a dashi-based sauce poured over. Garnish with a wedge of sudachi if you can find it – or use a lime if you can’t.

Finally, cold soba might be my favourite! Zaru soba is cold soba served in a basket, with shreds of nori and a dashi-based dipping sauce. I always eat it so fast, I never remember to take a picture! We went to Kanda Yabu soba, which is a lovely, Edo-era soba restaurant. The waitresses sing the orders to the kitchen! I also had the lightest, most delicious tempura I’ve ever tried here. Highly recommended, and not expensive. Around the corner is Matsuya soba, which my husband says is actually better, but the interior isn’t quite as pretty, so it depends whether you’re going for taste or atmosphere. 

Kanda Yabu Soba, an easy walk from Kanda or Akihabara station.

Inside, it's cool and relaxing.

This is Matsuya, just around the corner from Yabu Soba.