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Who doesn’t love noodles? Whether slicked with saucy tomatoes or doused in a soy-sesame base, with bouncy long noodles or short and easy-to-fork-up shapes, they will always be welcome on the table.
Let’s get one thing out of the way. Let me rant. Fusilli. He’s great in a New Yorker cartoon , but as an edible item, I hate fusilli. The outside of the spiral gets flabby too quickly, while the center spine remains undercooked. On the fork, it bends in a sad way. No one over 10 years old should be eating fusilli. Instead, use small shells if you’re looking for a shape that collects your chopped ingredients.
First up: tomato-based cold pasta. In Italy, too many years ago to count (sometime in the 1970s), at the pensione where I was staying, I saw a mom chop up summer tomatoes, add a glug of olive oil, a tiny bit of minced garlic, some torn basil leaves, and a bit of salt; then stir it up and set it aside, covered with a towel on the countertop. A few hours later, when we were ready to eat lunch, she removed the towel, and the transformation of tomatoes when paired with olive oil was revealed. It had created its own sauce! To this day, I find that transformation delightful. She then chopped up some mozzarella, stirred it in, and tossed the mixture with hot pasta. My initiation into the dish known as pasta alla checca was fundamental. Over the years, I saw home cooks leave the cheese out and add capers and olives. There were seafood versions with sardines or cooked shrimp. At Angeli, we cooked mountains of the stuff. It remains the easiest and most versatile pasta salad for me. And one which should only be made during summer when tomatoes are, well, tomatoes. Although it’s best served as a room-temperature sauce atop hot pasta, it easily converts into a room-temperature pasta. Please don’t eat it cold from the fridge. You don’t need a recipe. What I’ve described is the recipe. Do not peel the tomatoes first or seed them. Do not add pasta water to the marinated tomatoes.
If you’re using Italian or Italian-style pasta, remember to cook it al dente or even a little less, drain it, and rinse under cold water. This is basically one of the few times, if not the only, you may rinse your pasta. In this case, it’s so it doesn’t clump together in a starchy mess. I usually add a tiny bit of olive oil to it and toss to prevent sticking. But truly, the easier way is to have your sauce ready, and undercook the pasta just enough so you can mix the two. The hot pasta absorbs the juices and will be tastier than if you pour the sauce over cold pasta.
Japchae
Japchae is a Korean dish served hot or cold, made with bouncy and chewy sweet potato starch noodles. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
The first time I had japchae, I thought, “This is the Korean equivalent of spaghetti alla checca, but the noodles are the star.” The versatility of the recipe makes it easy to bring into your kitchen repertoire, and there are some shortcuts that make it really quick to put together. While often served at room temperature or slightly warm, japchae works beautifully as a cold dish, especially in summer.
It’s not “pasta” in the Italian sense — the noodles are made from sweet potato starch, dangmyeon, which gives them a translucent, glassy appearance and a pleasingly chewy, bouncy texture. Japchae is about balance — salty-sweet seasoning, soft yet chewy noodles, with a mix of vegetables and protein for texture and color. Even when served cold, the noodles should look glossy, and it should taste glossy, savory, and slightly sweet, with the aroma of sesame bringing it all together. The sweet potato glass noodles are boiled until just tender, then rinsed in cold water to stop the cooking and remove excess starch.
The vegetables are usually a colorful mix, like julienned carrots, red bell peppers, cooked spinach, onions, and sometimes mushrooms like shiitake or wood ear. Each vegetable is typically prepared separately to keep its color and texture distinct. Vegetarian japchae is common, but you can add beef, like strips of thin bulgogi or thin egg ribbons . You can buy bulgogi ready to cook at Korean grocery stores. I throw it on a hot griddle, then cut it up with scissors before adding it to the noodles. To bring the dish together, you make a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and sometimes garlic. The sweet-savory balance is essential; sesame oil should be fragrant but not overpowering. Finish off with toasted sesame seeds. The flavors meld as the dish sits, so it’s the perfect make-ahead solution to dinner on a hot night.
Nearly every Korean restaurant and grocery store in the prepared foods section.
Where to get japchae to-go:
- Surawon in Koreatown. - Genwa in Mid-Wilshire.
Hiyashi chuka
Hiyashi chuka is a Japanese seasonal cold dish found in many ramen shops. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
Next up is the Japanese cold noodle dish called hiyashi chuka. It’s often on offer during the summer at ramen houses. The way the dish is usually presented, it looks like a noodle version of bibimbap with dressed noodles on the bottom and the cold vegetables arranged on top in a pleasing display, but with egg ribbons instead of a fried egg. Joining the egg ribbons are typically julienned cucumber, ham, bean sprouts, imitation crab or shrimp, and tomato wedges. But there is always room for customization, and the recipe I point to from Just One Cookbook has many alternative suggestions. To tie everything together, it’s served with either a soy sauce-based dressing or a sesame-miso one. As for the noodles. They are thin, yellow, wheat-based noodles similar to ramen — springy but tender. They’re boiled, then rinsed in cold water to stop cooking and remove excess starch, leaving them firm and bouncy. You can sometimes find them packaged as a specialty fresh cold ramen kit in Japanese grocery stores. Make your own dressing instead of using the one in the package.
Call ahead to be sure. Ask your favorite ramen shop if they have the seasonal treat.
Where to get hiyashi chuka to-go:
- Burosu Ramen in Studio City - Kouraku in Little Tokyo - Hurry Curry of Tokyo in Santa Monica |
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