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Hiyashi
chuka are a must-have during Japan’s summer.
The hiyashi chuka is popular during the hot
season because it can be eaten like a salad.
The classic style of the hiyashi chuka is to
have the chilled noodles colorfully topped with
thinly sliced ham or chashu, egg strips, and
chopped cucumber. After that, the dish is flavored
with a sauce that is a combination of soy sauce,
vinegar, sesame seed oil, and sugar. The authentic
way to have this dish is by adding mustard and
pickled ginger. In most cases, the dish is served
with wavy noodles so that it can pick up the
flavor of the sauce. Each store that serves
this dish has its own specialty sauce and its
own variations in topping. |
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Regarding
the hiyashi chuka, there is a story about the
restaurant owner who put much effort in inventing
the dish. Upon discovering that during the summer,
Chinese food is less popular as compared to
any other season, this restaurant owner came
up with the idea of serving cold noodles. This
was based on the simple philosophy of “If
it can’t be served hot, then serve it
cold.” To give the dish not only a cool
taste but a cool appearance as well, the noodles
were topped with cabbage, cucumber, carrot,
chashu, and tomato. |
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Similarly, the sauce
used in this dish was given a refreshing taste by
using the combination of soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame
seed oil mentioned earlier. To make it easier to eat,
the toppings were thinly sliced. For the sake of creating
a colorful dish, the dish was topped with yellow eggs,
green cucumbers, and red ginger. Hiyashi chuka was
thus created via many trials and errors and as a result,
and became quite popular amongst the Japanese. As
a result, the dish spread throughout the country in
no time.In modern times, there are many variations
to the dish’s toppings and flavors, though commonly
used toppings are steamed chicken, pork, shrimp, bean
sprouts, lettuce, sweet boiled shitake mushrooms,
jellyfish, and seaweed (which is said to have taken
its idea from bangbang chicken).
As for the sauce, in addition to the traditional soy
sauce based type, there is also a sesame seed based
sauce that is getting to be quite popular.Hiyashi
chuka is now loved by many, but can also be recommended
for those who are on their diet. Chinese noodles are
made of carbohydrates that have a lower sugar absorption
rate than soba noodles do. With the fiber from the
vinegar and vegetables and proteins in the dish, you
can maintain a low blood sugar.
You can often see posters reading “We are now
serving Hiyashi chuka” in front of restaurants
nowadays, and this can be interpreted as a kind message
from the restaurants that they can provide replenishing
necessary vitamins during the summer. Now that summer
has arrived, please try out the hiyashi chuka dish—for
it is served for a limited time only. |
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