# Cold Noodle Recipes for the summer?



## onepiece (Jan 24, 2011)

Know of any good cold noodle recipes.  The only one I really know of is Tuna Noodle, so I would love to know a couple more because a hot dish just isn't that great during a 85+ day.     Would appreciate info given.


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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

You stop eating hot dishes at 85 degrees (F)?

If i would do that then I would hardly ever get to eat a proper hot meal 

In summer time we are sitting around 110 in the shade!

I think most asian food, esp spicy food, suits hot temperatures...

But lemme stop teasing and see what I can come up with.

How about a chicken noodle dish?

Fried chicken breast, thinly sliced combined with noodles, some tomato, cucumner, maybe some sweetcorn and some form of dressing?

Thai style beef noodle salad?

Maybe check on a couple of asian websites? I know there are a couple of Chinese and Japanese classics, they just don't wanna come to mind at the moment.

Hope that gives some ideas


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## capsaicin (Jan 16, 2011)

Japanese zaru-soba:

Boil soba noodles al dente.  Dip in cold water to stop the cooking.  Change water once or twice as needed.  Strain.

Make dashi sauce (you can just buy it either straight or in concentrated form to be watered back down).  Put in wasabi and/or finely shredded ginger and/or Asian raddish (daikon) to taste.  Chill.

Serve cold; garnish with shredded shiso, nori seaweed, and/or scallions as desired.  Dip each chopstickful of noodles in the sauce as you eat.

This also works with thin wheat noodles (somen).

Chinese cold noodles (there are many, MANY variants...  this is one):

Boil noodles.  Chill with water same as per above.

Make sauce: whisk together small amount of peanut butter, dark sesame oil, vinegar, szechuan pepper (known in Japanese as sanshyou) powder, white pepper powder, and other spices as desired (hot chili oil is popular).

Shred cucumbers, chop cilantro and scallions.  Stir all together and serve cold.

You can add meat to this as you like; bland types like poached chicken or pork work best because they don't overwhelm the other flavors.

Thai/Vietnames:

Boil rice noodles and chill.

Make sauce:  chop chilis, place with thin shreds of carrot and fish sauce in a bowl.  Pour boiling water over it to release the flavors.  Whisk in some sugar while still hot.  Chill and add lime juice.

Mix together with noodles and fresh herbs (I like Thai basil, mint, and cilantro).  Optionally, serve noodles over bed of chopped salad.

This is a very hearty flavor and works great with grilled meats.  Boiled shrimp and other proteins also work well.


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

You can make hundreds of variations with cold noodles. I always use pasta, preferably tagliatelle or penne. 

Cook the pasta in well salted water, drain when done, put in a bowl and drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the still hot pasta and mix gently. Adding the oil _before the pasta is cold_ will prevent the whole thing to stick together. Let cool. This is the base. Now you can serve the pasta like that seperately, or you can mix some ingredients in it, or even put anything else in it.

- fresh herbs, depending on the main ingredient (fish, meat..); chopped parcely or cilantro or chives or citronella...

- fresh veggies; tomato, cucumber, radish,... grated carrot, celeriac... all colors of bell peppers (peel them first!)

- all kinds of veggies cooked al dente; carrot, green beans, peas, broadbeans, asparagus, all kind of root vegetables including beets

- smoked fish or meat; salmon, trout, makrel(yummie!), duckbreast...

- cooked cold meat or fish, left-overs and anything you like; pork, beef, chicken etc. Salmon...

- hardboiled eggs, olives, anchovis...

Serve with some extra cold sauces seperatly; mayo, vinaigrette... you can make a lot of sauces combining spices with mayo!

Performing or learning some variations in cutting technique will help improve presentation.


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## onepiece (Jan 24, 2011)

Thank you all! I appreciate all the info given. Now I know what I need to get while at the store for ingredients. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif


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## amandayum (Apr 15, 2011)

Two of my favorites are asian noodle salad and cold noodles with spicy peanut sauce.

Just throw together a big salad--mixed greens, bean sprouts, sliced jalapeno, bell pepper, cilantro or other herbs, cashews or whatever you might like, and toss with cooked and cooled bean thread noodles, rice noodles or whatever suits your fancy.  Top with this salad dressing:

8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil

Juice of 1 lime

6 tablespoons soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped

2 cloves chopped garlic

Combine oils and set aside; combine remaining ingredients in a food processor and puree. With processor on, pour in oil in a slow stream until it's all been incorporated.

The spicy peanut noodles are very refreshing for a hot day; I like to use cold whole wheat spaghetti, but you can use rice noodles instead if you prefer.  I simply top it with the peanut sauce that I make and keep in the fridge, tossing in any other ingredients that I have on hand, like diced cucumber, cold cooked shrimp, leftover cooked chicken, bean sprouts, snap peas, etc.  Here's the sauce recipe:

2 green onions (white and green parts), finely chopped


1 tablespoon fresh or frozen ginger, finely grated

1 clove garlic, finely chopped


1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I use a "creamy" natural peanut butter that isn't actually completely creamy, so there is a bit of nutty texture)

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce


1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce

3 tablespoons brown sugar


1 cup hot water or lite coconut milk

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil


Combine all ingredients together in a saucepan and just whisk--then set over a low flame, covered, and simmer for 10 minutes for perfect results. Don't overcook--you don't want to scorch the peanut butter.  After cooking, finish with a squirt of fresh lime.  Easy peasy!


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

ChrisBelgium - I like your way of thinking on these dishes.

For an Oriental twist, I would use either soba noodles or glass noodles, blanched/soaking in hot water till soft, then drizzled with a little sesame oil, tossed thoroughly then left to cool in a colander.  Then add your steamed, cooled veg of choice.  I like water chestnuts, bean sprouts, thinly sliced scallion, blanched bell peppers, sauteed reconstituted shitake mushrooms sliced thinly ( stem removed), good splash of soy also oyster sauce /sweet chilli sauce if you like , all to taste.  Slivers of fresh chillis also if you like.  Some toasted sesame seeds are also good.  Fine slivers of cooked protein add extra flavour if you want it.

I love Asian food


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## theslowcooker (Apr 18, 2011)

Fusilli Noodle Salad

1 cup(s) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon(s) fresh oregano leaves, chopped
1/4 cup(s) (plus additional for serving) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup(s) (packed) fresh basil leaves, chopped
12 ounce(s) fusilli or corkscrew pasta
1 pint(s) (2 cups) grape tomatoes
Directions

Heat large covered saucepot of salted water to boiling on high.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine ricotta, oregano, 1/4 cup Romano, and half of basil.
Add pasta to boiling water and cook as label directs, adding tomatoes when 3 minutes of cooking time remain.
Reserve 1/4 cup pasta cooking water. Drain pasta and tomatoes; return to pot. Add reserved cooking water to ricotta mixture; stir into pasta and tomatoes. Toss with remaining basil. Serve with additional cheese if you like.


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## kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 24, 2011)

Our fav is Somen Noodle Salad (you can google it for any number of versions), add anything you like.  Veggies, cold meats (we like kamaboko-steamed fish cake or char siu-bbq pork), nuts, you name it.  I buy a perpared "Asian Salad Dressing" to top it all off and toss.  YUM!!


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## nullifygirls (Mar 25, 2011)

I am really excited ! I lurk on this thread but have never contributed to it. No promises this time, either, but I hope to learn a lot


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

The most common here in Italy (not noodles, but pasta) is caprese salad:

take good local ripe tomatoes, cut in pieces.  Add cut up good quality mozzarella.  Squash a garlic clove very well so it's like a paste, and add to the above with fresh basil leaves, olive oil and salt and pepper.  The quality of the dish is dependent on the quality of the ingredients

A variation is to add dark meat tuna (or substitute it for the mozzarella).  You can add black olives.  And though very unitalian you can also add ripe avocado in pieces. 

Cook the pasta al dente, drain and dump directly into the mixture that you have waiting for it.  The pasta will soften the mozzarella, the flavors will meld and it will not be cold but cool.


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