Noodle Journey Episode 205: Marutai Chilled Chinese Noodles

I’m moving on from the Marutai x Sapporo Ichiban collaboration products and into some of the newer Japanese Marutai releases that started showing up this past year, starting with something completely new to me: Marutai Chilled Chinese Noodles, also known as Hiyashi Chuka. This is my first time trying this style of dish, and while it’s currently December and absolutely freezing outside, this is a Marutai product and part of my annual countdown to Christmas tradition, so it still fits right in. The focus here is whether the base flavor itself is worth buying, which means I’m reviewing this exactly as it comes in the package, without adding any extra toppings.

Read more: Noodle Journey Episode 205: Marutai Chilled Chinese Noodles

This product is based on a Japanese recipe called Hiyashi Chuka, which literally translates to “chilled Chinese.” On English-language sites, it’s usually sold under the “Chilled Chinese Noodles” name rather than the “Hiyashi Chuka” one. Traditionally, this is a cold noodle dish dressed with a light sauce made from soy sauce, rice vinegar, and soup stock, and then topped with fresh vegetables and proteins. While Marutai suggests several preparation methods, including hot and soup-based variations, I prepared this the traditional way shown on the package by boiling the noodles, draining them, rinsing them thoroughly with cold water, and serving them chilled.

Inside the pack are two servings of super-thin straight noodles, two powdered sauce packets, and two seasoning oils. The powdered sauce contains soy sauce, vegetable powder, chicken extract, pork extract, bonito, and miso, while the seasoning oil appears to be a flavored vegetable oil. Each serving contains 1770mg of sodium, which is high by normal standards but relatively low for Marutai products. For the dressing, the instructions call for mixing the powder and oil with 50ml of cold water. Aromatically, the powder gives off strong miso notes with what smells like a hint of white or black pepper, while the oil comes across almost entirely as sesame oil.

Noodles:
Marutai’s straight noodles are exactly as good as expected. They retain a great chew even after being rinsed cold, and they hold their texture exceptionally well in this chilled preparation. The quality feels identical to Marutai’s soup noodles, just presented in a completely different context, and they work extremely well served cold.
• 10/10

Spiciness:
There is no heat here at all. Despite catching that faint white pepper aroma from the powder, nothing registers to me as spicy once it’s prepared.
• 0/10

Overall:
This turned out to be a really refreshing dish. Even on its own, without any added toppings, it’s enjoyable as a simple bowl of dressed noodles. The flavor of the dressing leans heavily on sesame oil nuttiness and the sharp zip of rice vinegar, to the point where it almost reads like a salad dressing, somewhat similar to the Nongshim Noodle Salad with Miso Vinaigrette I reviewed a while back. Underneath that acidity is a noticeable but complementary miso presence, along with salty umami from the soy sauce and gentle savory notes from the pork and chicken extracts. There aren’t any surprises here, but the ingredient list does exactly what it suggests it will do, and it does it well. Left plain, it feels like a chilled noodle salad that’s pleasant but clearly designed to be built upon. If you take the time to add vegetables or protein, this would easily turn into something special, but even without those additions, the flavor is solid and the noodle quality carries the experience. I’m not deducting points for the extra effort this style invites, because the base itself is strong. Certainly an enjoyable flavor, and one that I would definitely buy again to experiment with.
• 9/10