Chilled noodles soaked in a savory sesame miso sauce, Hiyashi Chuka is a popular cold ramen noodles enjoyed in the hot summer months.
Aren’t noodles the best? They seem to have a special power of bringing appetites regardless of the season and the mood.
During the hot and humid summer months in Japan, when we feel too darn hot to eat, we turn to cold noodles as the most delicious remedy to beat the heat. There are endless options of cold noodles, but today I’m going to introduce one of the favorites – Hiyashi Chuka (冷やし中華), which literally means cold Chinese-style (Noodles). It starts with chewy egg noodles, a mix of refreshing and crunchy toppings like shredded chicken, cucumber, slices of tomato, all blanketed in a savory nutty sauce. Slurping down the chilled noodles, you will instantly feel cool and find your appetite and spirit back.
On Just One Cookbook, you can find the classic Hiyashi Chuka recipe with soy sauce-base sauce, and this version is with a sesame miso sauce.
What’s Hiyashi Chuka?
Despite the popularity for ramen all over the US and around the world, cold ramen is still not too familiar among many Japanese food lovers. As Japan’s summer is pretty brutal with heat and humidity, most people long for chilled/cold noodle dish rather than ramen noodles in piping hot broth.
Hiyashi Chuka is served with cold ramen noodles placed on a plate with rim (not a bowl), each group of toppings is placed radially (clockwise/counter-clockwise), like a pie chart. Then the sauce is poured over before it is served.
The store-bought Hiyashi Chuka package often comes with the sauce, but it includes MSG and preservatives. For a healthier option, you can easily make my soy sauce-based sauce shared in my other Hiyashi Chuka recipe or make this sesame miso sauce in today’s recipe.
The sesame miso sauce is a simple mix of sesame seeds, miso, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and chicken stock. The sauce itself is light yet it delivers a dynamic punch of flavor – thanks to the umami-rich miso.
For this recipe, I used Hikari Miso® Organic Miso – Red Miso, but you can use other types of miso to try out different flavors. It is my favorite brand of miso. If you’re interested to try it out, you can purchase Hikari Miso from a majority of Japanese/Asian grocery stores or on Amazon.
Vegetarian/Vegan-Friendly Hiyashi Chuka with Sesame Miso Sauce
To make vegetarian or vegan sauce, you can use kombu dashi or vegetable stock to replace the chicken stock.
For toppings, instead of chicken breast, you can use firm tofu that you bake/fry, aburaage (deep fried tofu pouch), or various grilled vegetables to satisfy your cravings.
No matter what toppings you use, hiyashi chuka is quick to throw together. So ramen lovers, let’s bring on the noodles greatness this summer!
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Hiyashi Chuka with Sesame Miso Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 knob ginger
- 2 green onions/scallions
- 4 cups water
- ½ lb chicken breast (I use half of chicken breast)
- 2 Tbsp sake
- 1 tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- 1 Persian/Japanese cucumber
- 1 tomato
- 1 sprig cilantro (coriander) (for garnish)
- 2 servings hiyashi chuka noodles (10-12 oz or 283-340 g fresh ramen noodles)
Sesame Miso Sauce
- 2 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds (and more for garnish)
- 2 Tbsp miso (I used Hikari Miso® Organic Red Miso)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 ½ Tbsp rice vinegar (you can use lemon instead)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil (roasted)
- ⅓-½ cup chicken stock/broth
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Slice the ginger and cut the green onion into 2 inch pieces.
- Add 4 cups (cold) water in the pot and add the chicken breast.
- Add the sliced ginger and green onions. Add 2 Tbsp sake and 1 tsp kosher salt.
- Bring water to a boil on medium heat. Once boiling, skim off foam and scum.
- Lower the heat to low and cover to cook for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, peel the cucumber skin alternatively. Slice the cucumber thinly.
- Cut the sliced cucumber into julienne strips. Thinly slice the tomatoes.
- To make Sesame Miso Sauce, grind 2 Tbsp sesame seeds with a pestle and mortar. Set aside.
- In a bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine 2 Tbsp miso, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 ½ Tbsp rice vinegar, and 2 Tbsp granulated sugar.
- Add the ground sesame seeds, 1 tsp sesame oil, and then mix all together.
- After 15 minutes of cooking the chicken, reserve ⅓-½ cup chicken stock (90 ml), and gradually add to the Sesame Miso Sauce (I used about 90-100 ml).
- Remove the chicken breast from the water and shred it using two forks.
- To cook the noodles, bring a lot of water to a boil. Separate the noodles and add into the boiling water.
- Cook according to the package instructions and chill the noodles in the ice water.
- Drain well and serve on the plate. Place the toppings on top of the noodles and sprinkle extra sesame seeds. Garnish with cilantro (optional) and drizzle the Sesame Miso Sauce before serving.
To Store
- You can keep the sauce and toppings in airtight containers separately, but I recommend preparing noodles right before you serve. Store in the refrigerator for 3 days and in the freezer for a month.
Umai ! This takes me back to scorching summers living in central Tokyo! No escape from the humidity, except with very cold iced tea and soups. Am living in BuenosAires now which gets super humid too, so this is gonna become a staple again. I already make Zara soba often but it doesn’t chill down quite the same way, although I prefers the texture of cold soba noodles. Also, a sprinkling of baking powder on miso elevatess the flavour incredibly!! Tip from my Japanese buddy!
Hi Adam! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and for your kind feedback!
We hope you enjoy Hiyashi Chuka!🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. In Florida where I live summer can be pretty brutal too, so cold noodles sound great. I came across Morioka Reimen recently and would love to find a recipe for it. I didn’t see that you had posted about this cold ramen with fruit and was hoping you might consider posting about it this summer…..
Hi Anthony! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
We are glad to hear you enjoy cold noodles! Thank you for your request!
This was so easy and SO GOOD. Perfect for a hot summer’s meal. The dressing is to die for. And I got some chicken broth for other recipes! This is going to be made by me like every week lol I just wish fresh noodles were cheaper.
I did want to clarify, are the sesame seeds supposed to be raw or toasted (before grinding)? I used raw, but the pictures looked toasted. Thanks!
Hi Michelle! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and I love this dressing too! You can use other noodles too (but don’t use soba noodles). Udon works great, so as glass noodles etc.
It’s roasted/toasted sesame seeds. Sorry, Japanese (Asian) sesame seed packages are always selling roasted/toasted sesame seeds. I’ve never seen raw sesame seeds before. If you haven’t, you can always toast in a non-greased frying pan (shake frequently) until sesame seeds started to pop. 🙂
Sorry, I gobbled this up before I took a photo. This sauce is Absolutely Divine, and I’ll make it again soon. It was so easy because I had all the ingredients on hand. Well, I used sesame tahini instead of grinding my own seeds. So quick and easy. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipi!
Hi Carol! That’s a great sign that you enjoyed it! 🙂 I’m so happy to hear your enjoyed the sauce. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
My family would give this recipe five stars, but they complained that the sesame miso sauce was very soupy. Is it supposed to be? I always make enough for two nights, so I added a tablespoon of corn starch to the sauce. They liked the thicker sauce a lot better.
Hi Michael! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Hiyashi Chuka sauce is always thin, not thick soup. 🙂 But I’m glad you figured out the solution that works for your family! 🙂
We love following your recipes. We were happy to see Mr JOC’s positive progress report after your surgery. Speaking as a doctor and someone who has had several orthopedic surgeries, be religious about physical therapy. It will be key to your full recovery. Get well quickly!
I made Hiyashi Chuka using this recipe for my family while we were on vacation in North Carolina. It was the hit of the week and most of those served had never had Hiyashi Chuba. I positively love the meso sesame blending and I added cold cooked shrimp to the chicken and ham. So refreshing! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and making my day!
Hi Chuck! It sounds delicious with shrimp and all the ingredients! I’m so happy to hear you introduced this dish to someone who never had this before. Thank you for your kind feedback and for making MY day! xo
So I was watching this Japanese movie and in one of the scenes a naked couple were slurping cold noodles and kissing and being all romantic so naturally I googled “cold noodle recipe” and this one showed up on the first page now I know it isn’t the same dish they were eating but I just thought I’d share the sequence of events that led me here. This site rules, thanks!
Hi M! Haha, were you watching Tampopo? I had never watched the movie until many readers told me it’s a great movie. I thought it’s such a strange movie but so popular outside of Japan. I’m glad you found my site through the movie. If you enjoy cooking/eating Japanese food, I hope my recipes will inspire you to cook at home! 🙂
I dont cook Japanese a lot but subscribe to your email because food inspires memories so well And 冷し中華 was a life saver in 98º+ Tokyo in July I trust all your recipes for the authenticity I crave with the practical twists for local availability or modern health concerns And they’re always delicious!
いただきます
Hi V! The food memories! I do love eating Hiyashi Chuka (this sesame dressing one as well as the classic soy sauce version) a lot when it’s so hot that I don’t want to eat anything…. I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. どうもありがとう！
This was amazing, thank you so much for sharing your recipe! My 6yo daughter said it was the “best meal ever”. She is a quarter Japanese (my MIL is from Japan) and very proud of her heritage, so I’ve been trying to cook more Japanese food at home. Your blog has been invaluable. Thank you so much for not only sharing recipes from your kitchen, but also including context and history behind the food you cook. Best wishes.
Hi Kara! I’m so happy to hear you and your daughter enjoyed this dish! I can imagine when she grows up, she’ll make lots of Japanese food. 🙂 Thank you also for your kind feedback on my site. Happy to help anytime. 🙂
I made the vegetarian version of your recipe. It’s a nice summer dish! https://tmifood.wordpress.com/2018/09/05/hiyashi-chuka/
Hi AV! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! Your Hiyashi Chuka looks DELICIOUS!! 🙂
This sesame-miso sauce is soooo good. I could practically drink it by itself. It’s so simple but has such a depth of flavor. You could even use it as a dressing on a salad. Thank you for posting this recipe. This will definitely be my go-to hiyashi chuka sauce.
Hi MH Syin! Aww thank you so much for your kind feedback and for trying this recipe! I love this sauce too! So happy you enjoyed it. Thank you so much! xo
I made it and it’s so fresh and tasty, the dressing is lovely! Thank you for sharing.
I included some sliced thin omelette, just to have a little extra.
Hi Emy! Yay! Thank you so much for trying this recipe already! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks for your kind feedback. xoxo
Ooh this looks lovely and the dressing sounds great! I was planning on making some Hiyashi Chuka for lunch this week, so great timing 🙂
What a timing – I’m so glad you gave this recipe a try! 🙂
I’m excited to see this here! I first saw a recipe for hiyashi chuka on Michele Tam’s Nom Nom Paleo blog. I made it with soba noodles (because that’s all I had on hand and the cravings were real) and it was delicious but I wasn’t sure how “authentic” the recipe was so I’m excited to see this post 🙂 The sesame miso sauce looks soooo delicious! I’m excited to try this one out!
Hi Carolyn! I didn’t realize Michelle has Hiyashi Chuka recipe on her blog. This noodle is considered Chinese style in Japan, so we use Chinese style noodles “Chuka men” in Japan (Soba is considered Japanese noodles).
In Japan, we usually serve either sesame sauce or soy sauce base. I have soy sauce base dressing one here in case you want to check it out:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/hiyashi-chuka-cold-ramen/
Hope you enjoy!
Yes, Michele used blanched and spiralized daikon radish for the “noodles”. I ended up using soba noodles because those were the only noodles I had in my pantry ha ha.
I’m excited to try both versions that you’ve posted!
I hope you and your family are enjoying Japan!
This looks so delicious! Can I pack this as an box lunch option!m? If so, how do you suggest I pack the food for maximum freshness? Thanks!
Thank you Truc! If you pack this as lunch box, you will need to keep it chilled all times. You can add chilled noodles, and all the toppings in one box. Then put the sauce in separate container. Both containers should be in thermal lunch box with ice packs. I’m already jealous of your lunch choice….. 🙂
Great recipe and perfect for the humid heat wave in Europe right now.
Hi Angelos! Thank you! Humid heatwave there too? We’re struggling in Japan as well…. chilled noodles are the best food in summer. 😀
Hi Nami,
It’s been awhile since I’ve commented. Hope you’re well.
Where can I purchase the Hiyashi Chucka noodles? Is there a specific brand you use? Where do you purchase yours?
Thanks.
Hi Candice! I’m good, surviving in this crazy heatwave in Japan. 🙂 I buy my Hiyashi Chuka noodles in Nijiya (most of my Japanese ingredients come from this grocery store).
I believe the noodle brand they have is either Myojo or Maruchan or maybe one more brand…forgot the name temporary….
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/hiyashi-chuka-noodles/