Hiyashi Chuka
Hiyashi Chuka
Hiyashi chuka is Japan's essential summer noodle dish, a bowl of chilled ramen-style noodles arranged with a careful selection of colourful toppings and finished with a tangy, flavourful dressing. The name translates literally as cold Chinese, a reference to its origins in the Chinese-influenced cooking traditions that shaped much of Japanese noodle culture. It is served cold throughout the summer months and is as much about visual presentation as it is about flavour, the noodles are typically topped with julienned ham, cucumber, egg strips, tomato, crabstick and sesame, arranged decoratively around the bowl before the dressing is poured over.
There are two traditional dressing styles: soy-based, which is tangy and light, and sesame-based, which is richer and nuttier. Both work well with the same set of toppings, and the choice between them is largely personal preference. The dressing is usually served in a small jug alongside the bowl, allowing each person to pour as much as they like. Good Japanese sesame paste, neri goma, is the key ingredient in the sesame version and makes a significant difference to the depth of flavour.
Making hiyashi chuka at home requires a few specific tools. A large pot for boiling and cooling the noodles quickly, a good peeler and julienne tool for preparing the vegetable toppings, and deep bowls wide enough to display the toppings attractively are the essentials. The noodles themselves, chukamen, which have a slight alkaline quality from kansui, are available in the ingredients section of this collection.
Hiyashi chuka is one of those dishes that looks impressive and tastes genuinely refreshing on a hot day, yet requires little more than good prep and the right ingredients.
Discover more in our subcategories:
Serve in our bowls and add our condiment dispensers for the dressings.
Showing 8 products
AVAILABILITY: In stock (-10 items)
Green Yuzu Kosho, Japanese fermented chili and yuzu citrus paste made with unripe green yuzu and green chili. Bright, fiery, and intensely fragrant: a few grams transform any dish. Product Typology Yuzukosho (柚子胡椒: Fermented Citrus Chili Seasoning Paste) Regional Origin...
AVAILABILITY: In stock (-1 items)
Ponzu Sauce, Japanese citrus-soy condiment that combines the brightness of yuzu citrus with the depth of dashi and soy. Lighter and more refreshing than plain soy sauce. Contents 500 ml Origin Made in Japan 🇯🇵 Browse also: shabu-shabu tools, sushi...
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Japanese Karashi Paste, pungent, spicy mustard condiment with sharper, more intense heat than Western mustard. Essential for oden, natto, tonkatsu, and gyoza dipping sauces. Includes 2 tubes × 43g Origin Made in Japan 🇯🇵 Browse also: tonkatsu tools, oden tools,...
AVAILABILITY: In stock (-1 items)
Ichimi Togarashi, pure Japanese dried red chili pepper flakes. Straightforward, clean heat without additional spices. The essential single-chili seasoning for udon, gyudon, and hot-pot. Product Typology Ichimi Togarashi (一味唐辛子: Premium Coarse-Ground Pure Red Chili Pepper) Primary Pairing Ramen, udon, soba...
AVAILABILITY: In stock (499 items)
Nami Plates are Japanese ceramic plates with the flowing wave Nami pattern in classic blue and white. Timeless and versatile, they suit everyday Japanese dining as well as more formal table presentations. Artisan Pottery Style Authentic Mino Ware (Mino-yaki /...
AVAILABILITY: In stock (499 items)
Kujira Plates (set of 2), ceramic plates from the coordinated Kujira whale collection. Perfect for main dishes and sharing plates in a cohesive ocean-themed Japanese table setting. Collection Line "Kujira" (Traditional Hand-Painted Whale Motif) Vessel Profile Deep Rimmed Pasta, Rice,...
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Red Yuzu Kosho, Japanese fermented chili and yuzu citrus paste with a fiery, fragrant punch. Bolder and hotter than green yuzu kosho, with a deep ripe citrus character. Contents 50 g Origin Made in Kyushu, Japan 🇯🇵 Browse also: hiyashi...
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Japanese Chukamen noodles, the springy, slightly alkaline wheat noodles used in ramen. Curly and chewy, they absorb rich tonkotsu, shoyu, and miso broths perfectly. Type Chukamen (ramen wheat noodles) 250g Origin Japan Use Ramen, yakisoba, tsukemen Authentic kansui-treated springy texture...