Hiroshima tsukemen
Photo: hirotomo t · CC BY-SA 2.0

History

Hiroshima tsukemen is a postwar city invention and differs from the hot, thick dipping noodles found elsewhere in Japan: here both the noodles and the sauce are served cold, and the vegetables are part of the dish rather than a garnish. Bakudanya, trading from Shintenchi, is the shop most credited with carrying the style beyond the prefecture, and its graded heat scale, running from no chilli to a level few finish, is now imitated across the city. Cold noodles suit the humid Seto Inland Sea summer, which is why the dish peaks between June and September.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Sesame, Soy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 2Hands-on 20 minTotal 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 portions straight medium-thick ramen noodles
  • 200g white cabbage, cut in wide strips
  • 1 cucumber, cut into batons
  • 3 spring onions, sliced
  • 200ml dashi
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 to 3 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds

Method

  1. Whisk the dashi, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and sesame oil together, then chill for at least 20 minutes.
  2. Stir the chilli powder into the cold sauce a teaspoon at a time, tasting as you go.
  3. Boil the cabbage for 90 seconds, drain and plunge into iced water, then squeeze dry.
  4. Cook the noodles to the packet time, drain and rinse under cold running water until completely cold.
  5. Divide the noodles between two plates and arrange the cabbage, cucumber and spring onion beside them.
  6. Pour the chilled sauce into two bowls, scatter with sesame seeds and dip the noodles as you eat.

Tip from the editors. Rinse the noodles until they squeak. Any residual starch warms the sauce and the dish stops being a cold one.

Where to eat hiroshima tsukemen

Hiroshima tsukemen in Hiroshima

Bakudanya Honten ★ 4.5

¥ RamenShintenchi

Bakudanya sells Hiroshima tsukemen for under 1,000 yen in Shintenchi: cold noodles with cabbage, cucumber and a chilli dipping sauce you grade yourself.

TryHiroshima tsukemen

TipHeat runs on a numbered scale, and asking for a lower number costs nothing and keeps the sauce readable.

Directions

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