Szechuan cold noodles

Ingredients

The main dish:

  • White Asian noodles. Almost anything will work, you can usually find these in the dry noodles or cold areas of Asian grocery stores.
  • 1 tsp Soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Black vinegar

Toppings, all of which are optional:

  • Hot chili oil (I love spice, but not everyone is a fan)
  • Cilantro
  • Scallions, sliced thin
  • Garlic, minced
  • Sesame paste or peanut butter, mixed with hot water to dilute
  • Cucumber, julienned (sliced like matches)
  • Bean sprouts, blanched
  • Sugar

Instructions

  1. Boil the noodles until al dente, then shock it with ice cold water to stop the cooking process, and then plate it.
  2. To the noodles, drizzle on the soy sauce and black vinegar.
  3. Add toppings. I usually start off with firm toppings (such as vegetables) and build up to more liquid toppings (such as the chili oil).
  4. Stir when ready to eat. Nom nom nom.

Tips

Dunking the noodles in cold water is frowned upon by some as it removes some of the flavor. I favor it for expediting the cooling process, and also for removing some of the starch, which causes the noodles to stick.