 Hiyashi chūka topped with ham, egg strips, cucumber, tomato and chāshū | |
| Alternative names | Reimen |
|---|---|
| Type | Chinese noodle |
| Place of origin | Sendai, Japan |
| Main ingredients | Chilled Chinese alkaline wheat noodles |
| Similar dishes | Liangbanmian |
Hiyashi chūka (冷やし中華; literally "chilled Chinese") is a Chinese-style Japanese dish consisting of chilled Chinese-style alkaline wheat noodles (中華麺, chūkamen), with various toppings. It is usually served in the summer. It is also called reimen (冷麺; literally "chilled noodle") in Kansai region and hiyashi rāmen (冷やしラーメン; literally "chilled ramen") in Hokkaido.[1] Toppings are usually colorful cold ingredients and a tare sauce.
The dish was invented in 1937 by the Chinese restaurant Ryutei in Sendai as an adaptation of the Shanghainese dish liangbanmian (simplified Chinese: 凉拌面; traditional Chinese: 涼拌麵; pinyin: liángbànmiàn; lit. 'chilled mixed noodles').[2][3] The dish was originally sold in Japan under the borrowed Chinese name ryanbanmyen (リャンバンミェン). The name "hiyashi chuka" was established in the late 1950s.[4]
Popular toppings for hiyashi chuka are meat (ham, boiled chicken, or char siu), strips of tamagoyaki (egg omelette), summer vegetables like cucumber and tomatoes, menma (Chinese lacto-fermented bamboo shoots), and beni shōga (pickled ginger) as a condiment. Toppings are cut thin, to mix well with the noodles and the sauce. The tare sauce is usually made with a base of either soy sauce and rice vinegar, or sesame seeds and mayonnaise called gomadare (ゴマだれ)
See also
Notes
- "いわゆる冷やし中華（その４）食べ物新日本奇行" [So-called Hiyashi-chuka (No.4) New strange food journey around Japan] (in Japanese). Nikkei. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
- Itoh, Makiko (2017-06-17). "Beating the heat with food: 'Hiyashi chūka' cold Chinese-style noodles". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
- "凉面，上海夏天的"顶流"般的存在". www.lifeweek.com.cn. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
- "冷やし中華｜大食軒酩酊の食文化｜刊行物・コレクション｜味の素食の文化センター". 味の素食の文化センター (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-07-15.