Sichuan Cold Noodles – Liang Mian 凉面

Most of the year, Chinese people prefer to eat their noodles scorching hot. But in the summer time, when the humid Sichuan heat clings onto you like a blanket, a bowl of pungently spiced, Sichuan cold noodles accompanied by a soothing bowl of cooling rice congee is the choice of many.

What is Sichuan Cold noodles?

These little bowls of cold noodles or Liang Mian 凉面 in Chinese, are often referred to as “Xiao Chi 小吃”. This translates to “little eats”, and is meant to be enjoyed in small portions along side other similar little eats…at any time of the day.

Sold in little shops and by street vendors, these noodles are served at room temperature and seasoned in front of customers upon ordering. The flavours are a balanced combination of salty, spicy, sour and sweet. They are readily available, cheap and especially popular during the hot months.

Easy to make

It’s also very simple to replicate at home because all you really need for a classic bowl of Sichuan cold noodles are wheat noodles and Mung bean sprouts. As for the noodles, both fresh and dried are fine. Just find one that it’s not too thin or too thick. Thin noodles can be easily over cooked and thick noodles won’t cling onto the sauce well.

Blanched Mung bean sprouts are added for their crunchy texture. You can certainly include other vegetables like cucumbers and carrots as well as protein like shredded chicken for a souped up home version of Sichuan cold noodles. But to keep it classic, I’m using just bean sprouts.

Cooking the noodles just right!

An important thing to remember when cooking your noodle of choice is to undercook it by a minute. It’ll carry on cooking as it cools down and we want to retain a nice chewiness in the final product.

And do not rinse under cold water like some other cold noodles recipes! This is crucial because it’ll prevent the oil that’ll be added to stick to the noodles. So to cool down the noodles fast, spread it around a big platter or plate and toss the noodles about with chopsticks….preferably in front of a fan:)

And there you have it! A simple recipe for a perfect bowl of Sichuan cold noodles.

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