This dish is perfect for a hot summer day as it has that balance of spicy and tangy vinaigrette sauce. It’s also a great party food to share with your family and friends. What I love about this dish is you can prepare it with different types of Noodles, for example, egg noodles, somen noodles or even pasta noodles. Yes, pasta, I have tried it and it was delicious.

Below is a YouTube video on how to make Spicy Cold Noodle. This chef uses something called “preserved vegetables.” The preserved vegetable is basically a variation of Chinese pickled cabbage so the flavor will be quite salty (and sometimes sour and spicy). I left out preserved vegetables and replaced with all fresh produce.

I hope you will give this authentic dish a try. Enjoy!

Serving/Size: About 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces of chicken tenders (cut into slices or small cubes).
• 2 normal size cucumbers (peel and cut into rectangle shape).
• 2 stalks of scallion (cut into about 3 inches length).
• Carrot sticks (depending on preference).
• Honey roasted peanuts (crushed into small pieces).
• 3 slices of ginger (peeled).
• 1 bundle of Somen noodles.

Condiments:

• 2-3 teaspoonful Laoganma chili oil
• 4 teaspoonful White vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoonful of sesame oil
• Salt

Instructions:

1. Poach the chicken tenders in one pot. In a second pot, add ginger and 1 stalk of scallions, then add the chicken to the second pot and let it sit for about 15 minutes with lid closed after water comes to a boil.

2. Cook somen noodles in hot water per instruction on the package. Normally 2-3 minutes would do. Drain the noodles and put the noodle in cold water immediately. If the water turns hot, drain the noodles and add new cold water. Soak cooked noodles in cold water and set aside for about 10 minutes in the fridge.

3. In a mixing bowl, mix all the condiments together for the sauce. You can alter the taste per your preference by adding more vinegar for sourness, sugar for sweetness, chili oil for spiciness, etc.

4. In a larger mixing bowl, mix the cucumbers, chicken, carrots together. Drain the noodles and add to the bowl. Add the sauce from another bowl. Mix well, garnish with scallions and peanuts on top.

Tips:

• If you don’t have somen noodles, any noodles would work including pasta.
• If you can’t find the chili sauce, request from a local Chinese restaurant for their chili sauce. The flavor might be slightly different depending on the chili oil.

P.S.: Below is my homemade version of this dish, and I used Somen noodles.