Today I’m gonna give you insight into some of my favorite Japanese dishes 日本料理 (にほんりょうり) especially for the hot days of summer 夏 (なつ). Since summer 夏 is around the corner I prefer light and simple dishes which means in my case a lot of salad サラダ and fruits 果物 (くだもの). But since I need a little variety every now and then and since I actually love to cook 料理する (りょうりする), I’ll show you how to make 作る (つくる) Hiyashichuuka 冷し中華 (ひやしちゅうか), my personal favorite summer dish. The Chinese-style cold noodles are served with meat and vegetables 野菜 (やさい) on top. You can use anything like ham ハム, chicken 鶏肉 (とりにく) or seafood 魚介類 (ぎょかいるい). I grew up with all kinds of noodle-based dishes but among all these I loved 冷やし中華 and Somen そうめん. I consider cold tea made from roasted barley called “mugicha” 麦茶(むぎちゃ) ,which is very popular in Japan, as the perfect summer beverage.

If you have a sweet tooth like I do, you’ll definitely love “kakigori” かき氷 (かきごおり). It’s a shaved ice dessert which can be flavored with all kinds of syrups シロップ. My favorite flavor is green tea 抹茶 (まっちゃ), of course :), with azuki topping or simple with condensed sweetened milk コンデンスミルク.

To come back to the 冷やし中華, it is very easy 簡単 (かんたん) to prepare and tastes awesome 美味しい (おいしい). For this reason I decided to share my favorite recipe with you.

Ingredients 材料(ざいりょう) for one person 一人分 (ひとりぶん)

Dressing

Topping

1 egg   卵 (たまご)
4 sliced ham スライスハム
½ finely sliced cucumber  千切りきゅうり (せんぎりきゅうり)
½ tomato とまと
A little bit of oil サラダ油少々 (さらだあぶら　しょうしょう) for the omelette

Cook the noodles, drain them and rinse the noodles with cold water. Make a thin egg sheet (often called “usuyaki tamago” 薄焼きたまご). It should look like a very thin omelette. Then cut the egg sheet into fine strips. For the dressing simply mix all the ingredients. To serve, put a little pile of noodles in the middle of the plate and arrange the sliced ham, the cucumber, tomato and the fine egg strips. Pour the dressing all over the noodles and enjoy it （＾＿－）☆.