Cold spicy sweet tart nutty noodles from Sichuan

When the weather starts to heat up, I begin looking forward to making this super easy dish from the delicious province of Sichuan in central China. 

A land of muggy summers, Sichuan is the place where chili lovers make themselves sweat even more by consuming fiery foods. 

This might seem counter-intuitive, but it's all in tune with the thinking of traditional Chinese medicine, since this releases the pent-up heat in the body through perspiration, and so you feel cooler than before.

One such dish is called simply Cold Noodles and is nothing more than cooked, chilled noodles piled on top of blanched bean sprouts, topped with lots of veggies and either pressed bean curd or poached chicken strips, and then ornamented with lots of the spicy sauce known as "strange flavor" in Chinese.

It's all about balance

I don't know the origin of this name. Perhaps it is because it is an amalgam of every almost type of flavor there is: sweet, salty, sour, spicy, and nutty. You could throw some bitter in there and make it a home run, I guess, but I like it just the way it is.

This is another recipe that is open to interpretation, messing around, experimenting with. There really is no bad way to make cold noodles if you use good ingredients and make sure everything goes well with each other.

The classic ingredients here are -- in addition to the cold noodles -- blanched bean sprouts and shredded poached chicken. But even those are really subject to what you like and what you have in the fridge. 

Fresh mung bean sprouts

Here I've substituted baiye bean curd (like a softer pressed tofu) for the chicken to make a meatless version, and it was great. As for the veggies, just about anything is fine as long as it is refreshing and preferably slightly crunchy. If you can have some contrasting colors, so much the better.

Things like tomatoes wouldn't go very well in here because of their assertive flavor and soft texture. But shredded carrots, cucumbers, green onions, celery, sweet red peppers, and so forth get along quite well with the noodles and bean sprouts without overpowering all of the other flavors going on in the bowl.

Why blanched bean sprouts under the noodles? It may be hard to imagine just from the description, but they add a wonderful lightness to the noodles. Crisp and juicy, they mingle delightfully with the starchy yellow strands and add complexity and refreshment to each bite.

Assorted veggies and tofu

I've incorporated the Citrus Chili Oil with Black Beans in the previous post here, and it is amazing how much it adds to the flavors. The tiny bits of fermented black beans provide pungent, salty notes while the orange peel and ground chili tantalize the taste buds. Then, the sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce round out the nutty flavors of sesame oil and paste, while finely ground roasted Sichuan peppercorns tingle the nose.

Dishes like this make living in a hot, sweaty climate something worth enduring!

Cold noodles Sichuan style
Sichuan liangmian 四川涼麵
Sichuan cuisine
Serves 4 as a main dish

Noodles and toppings:
24 ounces (about 4 cups) | 700 g mung bean sprouts
Water, as needed
About 1 pound | 500 g fresh Chinese noodles of any kind
Around 1 cup | 125 g shredded poached chicken or julienned pressed bean curd
2 or 3 green onions, trimmed and shredded
2 Persian or other tender cucumbers and/or
1 carrot, shredded and/or half a sweet red pepper and/or 1 large stalk celery and/or
handful of blanched snow pea pods and/or any other vegetable you'd like here

Sauce:
10 to 12 tablespoons | 150 to 180 ml goop from the Citrus Chili Oil
6 to 8 tablespoons | 90 to 125 ml oil from the Citrus Chili Oil
4 tablespoons | 50 g sugar
4 tablespoons | 60 ml balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons | 90 ml toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons regular soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame paste or peanut butter
2 teaspoons toasted ground Sichuan peppercorns

1. Blanch the bean sprouts by putting them in a 2-quart saucepan, covering them with water, and bringing the pot to a boil. The sprouts are ready when they have lost that "beany" flavor but are still crispy; do not overcook them. Immediately dump the pot into a colander place in the sink and run cold water over the bean sprouts to stop them from cooking any further. Drain and shake the sprouts in the colander to get rid of most of the water. Divide the cook sprouts among 4 large noodle bowls.

Loosen the noodles before boiling

2. Fill the saucepan halfway with water and bring it to a boil. While it is heating up, open the noodles and run your fingers through them to break up the clump. (I dump them in a big bowl if they are particularly knotted up and work the clumps loose.) Add the noodles to the boiling water in small handfuls, and stir the noodles as you add them. Stir occasionally until the water comes to a boil again, and then lower the heat to medium. The noodles will cook quickly, and you should start tasting them as soon as they rise to the surface. When they have cooked through but are still chewy, dump the water and noodles into the colander place in the sink and run water over the noodles until they are cool. Shake them dry and divide the noodles among the 4 bowls.

3. Shred or finely julienned the rest of the toppings and arrange them on top of the noodles in a decorative manner.

4. Mix the sauce ingredients together until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour an equal amount over each bowl and serve. Let your diners toss the noodles themselves.

Tips

Rinse the boiled noodles

Fresh noodles taste best here, but dried can be substituted if you like. 

Buy bean sprouts no more than a day before you want to use them, as they spoil quickly. They keep best in a container covered with water and stored in the refrigerator.

Use other chili oils if you like; just make sure that they are fresh and very flavorful, as they make or break this dish.

If your sesame paste or peanut butter is hard, microwave it to make it smooth.

To make toasted ground Sichuan peppercorns, follow the directions for Toasted Sichuan Peppercorn and Salt, but don't use the salt; just toast the peppercorns, grind finely, and sift to remove any hard pieces.

Beating the heat with Cold Crystal Noodles

It's been hot here the past couple of days, so hot that most foods seem too much of a bother to eat, much less make. And that's when I think of some of the great foods the Chinese have developed over the centuries to make even the muggiest day a reason for celebration. 

Now that Indian summer, or what the Chinese call the "autumn tiger," is upon us with a vengeance, it's time to break out the cold noodles.

My endless love for China's hot-weather foods is rooted in the years I lived in Taipei. Although I always dreaded the suffocating tropical heat of a Taiwan summer, at the same time I could hardly wait for two things: the arrival of the summer fruits, and the day when restaurants would start posting signs that said liangmian shangshi (cold noodles now available) in their windows. 

Most of the noodles were made out of good old flour and water, but once in a while there would be someone with a different take on what a noodle should be. This is one of them. 

Since they're my favorites

I christened this dish with a perfectly boring name - Cold Crystal Noodles - because the Chinese name means "the little fishes that got away," I guess because the noodles bear more than a passing resemblance to whiting. I knew that calling this dish The Little Fishes That Got Away in the event anyone ever read this blog, this could easily lead to all sorts of confusion and recriminations and exasperated finger-pointing, hence the gray flannel suit name.

A traditional treat from northern China, these translucent little strips are made out of either cornstarch or green bean powder mixed with some wheat starch. This gives them that tactile quality so treasured by the Chinese, the mouth feel that the Taiwanese gleefully call “Q” – it’s a chewiness and bounciness that, when found in any dish, is pounced on by happy Chinese people with considerable delight, and I totally agree with the sentiment. 

It’s amazing the number of Chinese dishes that have Q in them, like the big tapioca pearls called boba, chewy breads, beef tendons braised to a wobbly tenderness and then chilled with a hot sauce, delicately cooked sea cucumbers, jellyfish salads, and noodles like these. And once you learn to appreciate this texture, there’s a whole new layer of enjoyment to be found in the foods of China.

Another good thing about this dish is that it is almost a salad with noodles. You get to use as many and as much of the condiments as you wish, and these all lend their own textures to the original Q, so you have soft and crunchy and chewy all mingling together. The sauce is perfectly balanced according to your taste, and it too adds a plethora of flavors to the bowl:

Cold crystal noodles  
Louyuer  漏魚兒

Northern China
Serves 3 to 4

& they've almost gone away

Noodles:

1¼ cups cornstarch
10 tablespoons wheat starch
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
2 cups boiling water
Large pot of boiling water

Condiments (three or more of the following):

Carrots, finely julienned, blanched and chilled
Cucumbers, finely julienned
Mung bean sprouts, blanched and chilled
Chinese chives, cut into 1-inch lengths (or tender green onions julienned), blanched and chilled
Bamboo shoots, fresh or frozen, finely julienned, blanched and chilled
2 eggs, beaten, fried into thin omelets, and thinly shredded
Pressed bean curd, finely shredded
Black mushrooms, thinly sliced and fried
Cilantro, coarsely chopped
Green onions, thinly shredded

Sauce:

3 tablespoons roasted sesame paste
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 to 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

1½ tablespoons good dark vinegar (like balsamic)
1 to 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 to 5 tablespoons chili oil

1. Mix the cornstarch and wheat starch together in a large bowl. Stir in the oil and mix to distribute it. Pour in the boiling water all at once and mix quickly with a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides of the bowl. After a minute, you should have a smooth paste. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough cool down to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2. Prepare as much and as many of the condiments as you wish. I usually go with about a cup each of the vegetables. You may blanch the vegetables in the noodle water after the noodles have been cooked, then rinse them in very cold water to stop the cooking. Keep the condiments in separate piles or bowls and let them chill in bowls of ice water.

3. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl until the sauce is smooth. Use as much of each ingredient as you like, tasting it as you go. When you are satisfied with it, set it aside.

4. When the dough has cooled down enough to handle easily, take about 2 teaspoons of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Roll it out with your hands on a cutting board until the noodle is about 7 inches long, or the width of a chopstick; the ends of the noodle should be tapered. Set the noodle aside on a rimless baking sheet and cover the finished noodles with a tea towel while you prepare the rest of the noodles.

5. Once all the noodles have been rolled out, bring the large pot of water to a boil. Place a large colander in the sink. Gently slide about 15 to 20 of the noodles into the boiling water; in about 30 seconds to a minute, the noodles will all float to the top. Take your spider or slotted spoon and scoop the noodles out of the water onto a plate, and then slide the noodles off the plate and into the colander. Run some cold water over the noodles to stop the cooking, and gently shake the colander to separate the noodles. Don’t be alarmed if there’s breakage – they’ll still taste and look just fine. Repeat this with the rest of the noodles until all have been cooked and cooled.

Zaijian 'til next summer

6. Fill a large bowl with very cold water and slide the noodles into the water so that they can chill until you are ready to serve them. If you wish, you can blanch your vegetables at this point, too; just place each kind of vegetable one at a time in the boiling water for about 15 to 30 seconds until tender, then scoop them out, rinse under running water, and chill in a bowl of cold water.

7. To serve, gently drain the noodles and distribute them between 3 or 4 bowls, reserving a few perfect noodles to place on top and disguise any breakage below. Place individual piles of the condiments on top of the noodles; arrange them in a pleasant pattern by alternating the colors. Drizzle the sauce over the top and serve.