Cold Ramen Salad with Soy and Sesame Dressing (Hiyashi Chuka)

Vibrant and refreshing, the chilled noodle dish known as hiyashi chuka is a Japanese staple during the hot summer months. Hiyashi chuka translates as “cold Chinese noodles”—chuka is the word for Chinese-style noodles as well as an alias for ramen. Essentially a composed salad, it features cold ramen with a medley of colorful toppings to be tossed into the noodles at the table, just before eating. We’ve chosen ham, thinly sliced omelet, sliced scallions, juicy tomatoes and crisp cucumber matchsticks. The dish is flexible, so feel free to experiment with the toppings. Some versions of hiyashi chuka are served with a richer dressing that includes sesame paste, though we opted for a lighter one made with soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and a little sugar; this imparts savory-tangy-sweet flavors to the noodles. Plating individual portions is the classic Japanese way to serve hiyashi chuka, though we also include an option for serving family style. To snip the nori use kitchen shears or scissors.