Before you read it and freak out - let me say that I get lazy with this recipe. I chop up the veggies and such however I feel like doing it. I am a little less concerned with presentation when my tummy is grumbling. I also make up the sauce a few hours ahead or a day ahead to mellow the garlic and I also keep it for a week or more (evil me) in the fridge - eating away at it.
Warning, TMI Moment: Mellowing the garlic out makes it easier on my delicate gastrointestinal constitution.
I have tried it with steak cut up in the noodles also - YUM! And, I have changed the sauce because it is too sweet for me as written below. I know, I know, I eat chocolate and drink coke - but seriously, I like this sauce as follows:
2 medium clove of garlic, minced
1 - 1.5 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. vinegar (white or rice, cider if you're in a pinch)
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
a pinch of salt
a few drops of sesame oil
Also, do not be afraid to change up toppings... You do not have to use all of these or even any of these - although, so far my favorites are cucumbers, steak, avocado, TOMATOES and spring onions.
Thanks Erica - daughter!
Here is what Erica writes in her FB notes:
This dish is probably my single favorite from my Japanese cooking and language course. It's the one I made for you, dad, when you were very ill a few years ago. For ages I couldn't find my recipe, so I had to rely on incomplete and imbalanced versions I found online, or Frankenstein monsters I created from memory. At last, however, I found the recipe and have translated it here for your pleasure. ;D
The recipe is easy enough for a young kid to do with minimal supervision but sophisticated enough for adults. Hiyashi chuuka is a traditional summer food and makes a great appetizer or light brunch/lunch. If you're a ramen-eater and you've run out of ways to cook your cheap food of choice, this recipe is for you.
Makes 4-6 lunch servings (unless you're like me and really like your noodles)
Noodles and Toppings
4 packets of ramen (I have also used udon noodles for this, also wonderful)
sesame oil
Note: All of the below are optional, but some combination of these toppings should make their way into your hiyashi chuuka for optimal nomming. The starred ingredients are for making an omelette to put on the noodles, which in my opinion is completely awesome. If you like tamago sushi, you'll like egg omelet on your chuuka.
1 cucumber, peeled, seedy center removed, and cut into matchstick-width sticks
1 carrot, matchstick cut
3 eggs*
cooking oil*
1/4 lb. ham (nice deli ham works very well, so will leftover ham) thinly sliced into ribbons
2 green onions, sliced into thin diagonal rounds
green or red leaf lettuce cut into ribbons
1 ripe avocado, diced large
Sauce
1 medium clove of garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. sugar (I substituted honey and brown sugar for the usual white sugar today, and it was surprisingly fine)
2 Tbsp. vinegar (white or rice, cider if you're in a pinch)
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
a pinch of salt
a few drops of sesame oil
Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl, mix well until the sugar and salt are dissolved, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. This sauce can be prepared in advance with no ill effects, just be sure to eat it within a couple of days. If you want to increase the amount of sauce, just up the ingredients according to the 3:2:1 liquid ratio.
Set aside or discard the ramen flavoring packets, as we won't be using those. Bring water to a boil in a large pot, boil the ramen for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse in cold water in a colander until all the noodles are cold. Set aside to drain for a minute, then pour the noodles into a bowl and stir in enough sesame oil that all of the noodles are lightly coated. This usually takes at least a couple tablespoons of oil.
If you are making the omelet, beat your 3 eggs with a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan over medium-low. I often use sesame oil, but because that oil has such a low smoke point, you may find corn or canola oil to be more manageable here. Once the oil has heated up, swirl it around the pan gently, then pour in the egg mixture. Make sure the omelet is reasonably thin--it should be roughly 1/2 a centimeter thick, so swirl the egg mix around the bottom of the pan if you need to. After the bottom has solidified and the top becomes a bit opaque, use a spatula to lift the omelet and turn it completely over like a pancake--don't worry if the top is still runny. Cook for a minute or two more, then turn off the heat and allow the omelet to finish under its own power and cool. Once it is cooled enough to touch, slice the omelet into long, thin ribbons.
Prep your toppings. The thing to keep in mind is that this dish was originally designed to eat with chopsticks, and hence all of the ingredients should be cut "hosonagai"--thin and long, as if they were noodles. That is how your ham, omelet, cucumbers, and any other vegetable ingredients should be cut. Avocado won't stand up to that treatment, so a large dice works well instead.
Divide the noodles among bowls, top with the sauce, and arrange your toppings in bowls or on a
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