It's been extremely hot every day here. How have you been so far, everyone? I've been losing appetite because of the heat. When that happens to you , what kind of food do you usually eat?
Today, I'd love to introduce cold noodle dish called 冷麺 れいめん reimen in Japanese. I absolutely love it because It's especially delicious when we've lost appetite. The noodles go down so easily and are so refreshing. It definitely helps our appetite come back. Since there are many different types of cold noodles, I'll share some pictures.
A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went to a ramen shop. I ordered reimen and he got cold tsuke-men. The two pictures below show my reimen and his tsuke-men.
The third picture shows reimen from the yakuzen (medicinal food) restaurant we often go. The noodles are made with sesame.
The next picture below shows cold soba, which is often served with tempura ( deep-fried vegetables or seafood). It's a very common and popular combination in Japan.
The last two pictures show my homemade reimen. While I love eating out, I often feel that restaurant meals don’t include enough vegetables. So when I cook at home, I prefer adding many varieties of them.
Since I'm quite health-conscious, I also try to include nutritious ingredients. For example, I added black sesame seeds because they're said to have some health benefits such as antioxidant effect, helping to lower blood pressure, improving skin health, and more.
Do you enjoy cold dishes in the summer too?
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I love sushi, but I have to say that tempura is my favorite Japanese food. I treat myself to it once a week. Unfortunately, the restaurant I get it from doesn’t offer cold noodles. I didn’t know about this combination. It looks scrumdiddlyumptious!
I lose my appetite as well when it gets really hot! Usually I tend to eat quite light and fresh salads. When I have a bit of an appetite I tend to eat a 'rice salad' that it's usually made in Italy in summer time. It's literally rice with any leftovers you have in the fridge (veggies, sausages, ham, corn, boiled eggs, cheese, you can literally add anything you want) served cold and with/without mayo. It's so refreshing. Reimen looks so tempting, I need to find someone that makes them where I live now, I have to try them!
I have to admit that I don't like cold food, except for some desserts and juices! Even salad, I don't like to have it cold! I like to have food warm (or in room temperature) in summer and hot in winter! :)
@CocoPop Thank you for reading, correcting and commenting. Do you also like Roald Dahl? Yes, definitely!
@nani_ Thank you for the comment. I love fresh salads too! I've never heard of 'rice salad' from any of my friends in Italy. So, I'm very curious. Thank you for sharing!
@Double-Zee It's very interesting because our food culture rely on our own culture. If you don't use to have cold food in the summer, of course, you have no idea how it's great. How about coffee? Do you drink iced or cold coffee in the summer?
I do like him. One of my favorite books growing up was James and the Giant Peach. Why do you ask?
When it's really hot, I usually tend to favour light dishes such as lasagna. Just kidding! The hot weather doesn't affect my appetite much. If it's burning hot and I'm craving something fresh, I'll make a pasta salad. Although your question about the rice salad was directed at nani_, I can't help but share my unsolicited opinion on food, as any stereotypical Italian would. Let me start by saying that Italian rice salad is a crime against humanity. It really is. It's boring, tasteless and chaotic. To make it, you cook the rice until it's done, then drain and rinse it under cold running water. Then put it in a bowl and add whatever you can find in your fridge. You might be wondering what the difference is between pasta salad and rice salad. Well, they're essentially the same thing. It's just that cold rice tastes like a concrete block 🙂.
@CocoPop The story is one of my favorite of his as well. That's because the word ' scrumdiddlyumptious' you wrote here is from his book 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.
@Simone- Simo, you are always so funny, lol. Thank you so much for the explanation. I can imagine what it looks like. I guess it's quit similar as cold past here. Do you have cold pasta in Italy too?
Actually, that word had already been around for 20 years before Dahl used it: https://www.oed.com/dictionary/scrumdiddlyumptious_adj?tl=true Funny enough, Dahl was British, and this word is old American slang.
@Simo I pictured you sitting on the beach, eating your lasagna fra diavolo and sweating bullets 😅😆😂 And sorry... I've always been a huge fan of your food posts, but the rice salad sounds perfectly horrific! 😵💫
@Simone- I can defend myself by not being 'fully' Italian, but I love rice salads, poor them! XD Does that mean I am a criminal myself? haha I find them so good and refreshing, depending on what you add on them. I do agree that cold pasta is so much better. I wouldn't say no to a lasagna in the heat either, though! 😂
@CocoPop Thank you for the information. I thought you used the phrase because you loved the author.
Uly, it's 2 am here. You made me run to the nearest church, wake the bloody priest up and drag him out of bed and to the confessional. The priest asked me what I could possibly have done that I needed to confess at this hour of the night. I replied: Father! Forgive me for I have sinned! A friend from a faraway land told me a tale about a magical dish. I was so enchanted by his words that I had to find out more. So I sought the wisdom of the all-knowing sage of the digital realm: Google. The things I've seen! Father! Please save my soul from eternal damnation!
On a more serious note, I actually Googled fra diavolo. I know. What a brave man I am! It turns out that fra diavolo is the name of a sauce. Well, it's not just any sauce: it's a traditional Italian sauce, and not just any traditional Italian sauce. It's a traditional sauce from the Campania region—my region! And it's not just any traditional Campanian sauce! It's actually named after a local folk hero, an anti-French rebel called Michele Pezza who was nicknamed Fra' Diavolo. Fra' is short for fratello (brother). In any case, let me say that I already love this man for being anti-Fren..I mean for being from my region. As such, I love this sauce as well. Who cares if nobody in Italy calls this sauce Fra' diavolo. Let's just unite against the Fren—I mean over our shared love of food.
@nani_ Oh, don't worry. Italian women love rice salad! Anyway, if you don't think that you're fully Italian, here's my Italian cultural test:
That's peak Italian culture, if you ask me. However, this film is nine years old. So, if you're really really young, it's possible that you're not familiar with this scene.
@yumiyumayume, I think it's our "home" culture. My mother used to make sure that every dish was hot before we started eating.
I tried iced coffee once and yeah, I liked it. I don't mind having cold juices, but not so cold, though. My favorite one is sugar cane juice and It's always prepared cold.
@Double-Zee Thank you for sharing. I've never tried sugar cane juice and I'd love to try it! I love both iced coffee and tea in the summer. We even eat cold food. I'll write about it some time soon!
@Simone- I think I pass the test then! haha I am not a fan of Zalone, but I know the skit. I prefer Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo myself (non posso né scendere né salire!), I say NO to pineapple on pizza (and I tried it), for the 3rd, I love their food. Does that count? XD
@nani_ Ssh! You can't say you love their food! That's considered treachery! Don't worry. I won't report you to the Italian Secret Food Police. As for pineapple pizza, you didn't need to try it. You see, you just had to trust your Italian food genes. And if there isn't such a thing as food genes, there is now. I really admire your courage though. OK then, you can keep your Italian ID card. You have my seal of approval 👍.
@yumiyumayume I forgot to answer your question about cold pasta. Yes, we have cold pasta in Italy, and we call it "insalata di pasta" (pasta salad). Cook the pasta until it's done, drain and rinse it under cold running water for about 15 seconds. The last step is important for two reasons. First, cold water stops the cooking process, ensuring that the pasta keeps the desired texture. I know what you're thinking. If you rinse the pasta under running water, it'll get all mushy. Well, it just doesn't. If anything, it's even more "al dente" style. Secondly, cold water washes off the outer layer of starch, which isn't necessary here as we're not aiming to make the sauce thicker. Also, you'll probably want to get rid of it anyway, as it might affect the taste. Then you put the pasta in a bowl and add a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, fiordilatte cheese (or scamorza cheese), fresh veg, tuna fish, olives and so on. Really, you can add whatever you like as long as you don't make a mappazzone. What's a mappazzone? Check out these two videos and you'll get the idea:
Thank you so much for the videos and the excellent explanation, Simo! I'll definitely watch these. You made me miss Italy so much, lol. I miss your food posts as well!