Salads & Cold Dishes
Shredded Chicken Cold Noodle Skin
a fresh, balanced cold dish with protein, vegetable and sesame dressing — ideal as a light summer lunch
Why people make this dish
When the weather is hot, heavy cooked meals can feel like a burden. A cold salad or a liang ban (cold-dressed) dish is the Chinese answer to a summer lunch — fresh, light, and flavourful without making you feel heavy afterwards. Bro Niu had been planning cold noodles one day, but spotted fresh mung bean jelly sheets at a tofu stall and grabbed them instead. The result — silky sheets of fen pi layered with shredded chicken and cucumber in a sesame-mustard dressing — is cooling, filling, and genuinely delicious.
Who it suits / who should be cautious
- Suitable for most people as a light summer meal
- Those with a cold constitution or sensitive digestion may prefer to reduce the cucumber quantity or have the dish at room temperature rather than chilled
- The sesame-mustard dressing contains a mild heat from the mustard — those with a strong aversion to mustard can use just sesame paste
Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)
- Mung bean jelly sheets (fen pi): Light, easily digestible; in food therapy, mung beans are regarded as cooling and clearing for summer heat.
- Cooked chicken (ji rou): A lean, easily absorbed protein; in food therapy, chicken is considered mildly warming and nourishing to the spleen and stomach.
- Cucumber (qing gua): Refreshing and mildly cooling; adds crunch, hydration, and fibre.
- Sesame paste (ma jiang): Provides healthy fats, calcium, and a rich nuttiness; sesame is associated in food therapy with nourishing the kidneys and lubricating the intestines.
- Toasted peanuts: Add texture, protein, and a further nuttiness.
Ingredients (2 servings)
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cooked chicken meat | 115 g (3 liang) | Use leftover poached or steamed chicken |
| Mini cucumber | 1/2 to 1 whole | Peel and julienne finely |
| Mung bean jelly sheets (fen pi) | 3 sheets | Available fresh at tofu or Asian grocery stalls |
| Toasted sesame seeds | 1/2 tablespoon | Dry-toast in a pan until golden |
| Roasted peanuts, crushed | 1 tablespoon | |
| Dressing | ||
| Sesame paste | 1 tablespoon | Chinese sesame paste (ma jiang); thin with hot water |
| Yellow mustard | 2 teaspoons | |
| Hot water | 1 tablespoon | To thin the sesame paste |
| Sugar | 1 teaspoon | |
| Light soy sauce | 1 teaspoon | |
| Sesame oil | 1 teaspoon |
Method
- Shred the cooked chicken meat into thin strips by hand or with a fork.
- Peel the cucumber and julienne into thin strips.
- Make the dressing: whisk together sesame paste, mustard, hot water, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth and well combined.
- Blanch the fen pi (jelly sheets) in boiling water briefly, then remove, drain, and set aside to cool. Place on a serving plate.
- Arrange the shredded chicken and cucumber julienne on top of the jelly sheets.
- Scatter the toasted sesame seeds and crushed peanuts over the top.
- Drizzle the dressing over everything just before serving.
Bro Niu’s tips
- While ready-made cold-dish dressings are available in shops, a homemade version always tastes better and allows you to control the balance of flavours.
- For those who enjoy a little heat, add a small amount of chilli sauce or chilli oil to the dressing.
- Toasted sesame seeds and crushed peanuts add crunch and fragrance — don’t skip them.
- If you cannot find fresh fen pi (jelly sheets), dried glass noodles (cooked and cooled) work reasonably well as a substitute, though the texture is different.
Published May 23, 2012 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 3 min read.
