Shredded Chicken Cold Noodle Skin

Why people make this dish

When the weather is hot, heavy cooked meals can feel like a burden. A cold salad or 38 g ban (cold-dressed) dish is the Chinese answer to a summer lunch — fresh, light, and flavourful without making you feel heavy afterwards. Nourilo 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.

Method

1. Shred the cooked chicken meat into thin strips by hand or with a fork.
2. Peel the cucumber and julienne into thin strips.
3. Make the dressing: whisk together sesame paste, mustard, hot water, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth and well combined.
4. Blanch the fen pi (jelly sheets) in boiling water briefly, then remove, drain, and set aside to cool. Place on a serving plate.
5. Arrange the shredded chicken and cucumber julienne on top of the jelly sheets.
6. Scatter the toasted sesame seeds and crushed peanuts over the top.
7. Drizzle the dressing over everything just before serving.

Nourilo’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.