Taiwan-style
Cold Noodle Salad 台式涼麵 (tái shì liàng miàn) Taiwan has many refreshing drinks, snacks and appetisers to keep you cool in summer, but actual cold meals are hard to find, so you can count this easy noodle salad with a tangy sesame dressing as a rarity.
Serves 4–5
Ingredients
Noodles:
200 g (7 oz) dried noodles
100 g (3.5 oz) chicken breast
60 g (2 oz) oriental cucumber
60 g (2 oz) carrot
Dressing:
1/2 cup cool water
4 teaspoons sesame paste
2 teaspoons peanut butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons white sugar
5 teaspoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar
Method
Cook noodles according to package instructions.
Drain, then run under cold water until cool. Drain, cover
and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Bring some water in a pot to a boil, add chicken. Cover, turn off heat, steep for 15 minutes. Remove meat, let cool. Tear along grain into thin strips.
Make dressing: Mix sesame paste well in
original container before adding to a mixing bowl with
peanut butter. Add a 1/3 of water, stir.
Add garlic and sugar,
another 1/3 of water, stir.
Add soy sauce, vinegar and remaining water, stir. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.
Julienne cucumber and carrot.
Place noodles in large individual bowls. Put cucumber, carrots, and chicken on top of noodles.
Stir dressing again, and spoon equal portions onto noodles.
Diners should mix ingredients together with chopsticks before eating.
Notes: The dish is called cold noodles, so serve it cold, particularly in the hot weather. Taiwanese usually make cold noodles with store-bought pre-cooked 'oil noodles,' but you can use most kinds of Chinese fresh or dried noodles. Make up a larger quantity of the dressing and keep it in the fridge. It will keep for an extended period.
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Chinese rarely sit down to a lunch or dinner that does not include soup (in the case of noodle soup, soup is the meal). Unlike the Western custom of having soup before the main course, Chinese prefer to eat soup during or towards the end of a meal. At a casual meal people tend to pick up the bowl and drink directly from it … more
