00:00In Japan, yashujuka is not really a dish, it's a season.
00:04It shows up the week's summer turns hot and quietly disappears by autumn.
00:08Let me hand you the flavour I grew up eating.
00:12Stir the sauce together first because this cold summer sauce is the soul of the whole dish.
00:18Into a small container goes 3 tablespoons of soy sauce,
00:223 tablespoons of rice vinegar,
00:25a tablespoon and a half of sugar,
00:27a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil,
00:30a tablespoon of cold water,
00:32and an eighth of a teaspoon of dashi granules.
00:36Stir it until every grain of sugar has disappeared.
00:39If it ever tastes too sharp for you, warm it for a moment to soften the vinegar,
00:45or take the sugar up to chew.
00:47Just never thin it with water, that only flattens the balance.
00:52Here's a small thing I do that I'm not going to insist on.
00:55I run the tare through an electric milk frother.
00:59The mouthfeel comes out noticeably smoother.
01:02If you have one sitting in your drawer somewhere, give it a try.
01:06A good hand whisk does the job too, of course.
01:09Chill the tare into the fridge until you plate up.
01:12And that is the heart of this whole dish already done, before a single pan is hot.
01:18Now the egg.
01:19Crack one egg into a bowl.
01:21Add a pinch of salt.
01:23And half a teaspoon of sugar.
01:25And beat it until it is fully combined.
01:28Set aside while you cut the vegetables.
01:32Julienne once Japanese or Persian cucumber into thin, cool strips as well as your chosen ham.
01:37If you like imitation crab, boiled shrimp, leftover chashu, canned tuna, or crisp bacon,
01:44all work perfectly in its place.
01:47Slice one tomato.
01:49The vegetables are the most open part of the plate.
01:53Soshiso, blanched bean sprouts, wood ear mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, or wakame,
01:59all earn a place here too.
02:02Basically, the tare and the noodle are the two parts I would ask you to leave alone.
02:08Everything that sits on top is yours.
02:12Pour the beaten egg once through a strainer or a fine sieve into a clean bowl.
02:17In a separate little dish, dissolve half a teaspoon of potato starch into a teaspoon of water,
02:24then stir the slurry into the egg.
02:27The starch gives it just enough stretch to lift that hole instead of tearing.
02:33Heat a frying pan over medium.
02:35For a single egg, about 20cm pan is the easiest size to work with.
02:41Oil it lightly, then wipe the excess away with a paper towel.
02:45Drop the heat medium low, pour in the egg,
02:48and quickly spread it into one thin, even layer across the pan.
02:53Once it is poured, do not touch it.
02:56When about half the surface sheen has gone,
03:00cover with a lid or lay a sheet of foil loosely over the top for about 20 seconds.
03:06Then turn off the heat and let it steam where it sits for 1-2 minutes.
03:11You might reach in to flip it, but there's no need.
03:14It finishes cooking in the steam alone.
03:17Lift an edge gently with cooking chopsticks,
03:20and carefully peel the whole sheet out without a tear.
03:24Lay it flat to cool completely.
03:26Then stack it or roll it up, cut it into fine ribbons,
03:31and fluff them apart with your fingers.
03:33And there is your king shi tamago, a little pile of gold.
03:38If you'd rather skip the crap, a sliced boiled egg, fried egg,
03:42even a quick scrambled, all do the job.
03:45The egg is here for soft richness and colour, and it doesn't really matter what shape it arrives in.
03:53Now the noodles.
03:54Boil three portions of ramen noodles in plenty of water, around 10 times their weight.
03:59Here's one move that runs backward from instinct.
04:03Cook them a touch soft a little past where you would pull a noodle for hot ramen.
04:08The ice bath at the end firms them up, so if you pull them early to protect the bite,
04:14the cold leaves them stiff.
04:16Let the cold do the firming.
04:18There just need to be an alkaline chuka noodles,
04:22and the brand of fresh versus dried does not match much.
04:26If you want to make homemade noodles, check out my ramen making guide video.
04:30The alkaline noodle is the only Chinese part of hiasu chuka.
04:35The name just points at the noodle.
04:37Udon or soba though are a step too far and turn it into a different dish.
04:43If you cannot find ramen noodles where you are,
04:46boil thin spaghetti with baking soda in the water,
04:50the alkaline reaction nodges is surprisingly close and it works.
04:54If you're interested, check out my spaghetti hack blog post.
04:58When they're done, drain off the boiling water.
05:01Now rub washed noodles under running water.
05:04Working them with your hands to strip the slippery film off the strands.
05:10Leave it on and it does two things you do not want.
05:13It dulls the firm bite and it keeps the tare from clinging.
05:18Wash it away and the sauce grabs every strand.
05:22This is the opposite of pasta where you hold onto the starch.
05:26Once the noodles are cool enough, add ice cubes to really cool them down.
05:32Then remove the remaining ice cubes and drain them hard because water left in the noodles
05:38bleed out and dilute the tare, leaving it pale.
05:43Toss them with a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil so they stay loose and smell wonderful.
05:48That is the noodles done. Cold and firm.
05:52Now plate it.
05:54Chill your serving plates first if you can so the cold noodles meet a cold surface and keep their chill.
06:00Divide the noodles among plates and pile each into a small mound in the center.
06:07Lean 30 grams about an ounce of julienned ham against it, then the cucumber, the tomato,
06:16and the kinshitamago, like spokes of a wheel with the colors spread around.
06:21If you like, finish with a little Japanese mayonnaise, some chili oil,
06:26toss this white sesame or a pinch of benishogar.
06:29Pour the tare over the whole dish only now at the table.
06:33A noodle that sits in the sauce too early drinks it up and goes soft.
06:39Then mix it all well before you eat.
06:43And this is my hiaschuka. After a hot day outside, this is the bowl that cools you straight back down.
06:50Make this tonight, Google hiaschuka statue for the full, printable recipe with exact measurements
06:56and timing.
06:57Want even more delicious recipes? Grab my free cookbook from the link in the description.
07:03Okay, let's go over the ingredients one more time.
07:06And if you're ready to cook, grab the written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with
07:10the picture that's about to pop up on your screen.
07:24Tap the recipe card on your screen for the full, printable version with exact measurements,
07:29every timing, and notes for getting each step right.
07:33Next time, I'm making toun katsu. See you then.
07:36Here we go...
07:36Here we go....
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