Chengdu Challenge #19: White Cloud in a Perfect Storm

When I first published this recipe, way back in May 2015, Fongchong’s latest obsession was these 鸡丝凉面 (jīsī liángmiàn), cold noodles with shredded chicken. Some nine years later, she still loves this Sichuan summer staple, but our preparation of them has evolved enough to warrant a recipe refresh.

The dish has a regretfully boring name for something so singularly, aggressively tasty, so you’ll have to take my word for it—you really want to try this. Liangmian with chicken totally deserves a more poetic name, like that of Ants Climbing a Tree, another beloved Sichuan noodle. Something like, perhaps, White Cloud in a Perfect Storm.

Or maybe not. But just don’t let the boring name fool you. Especially since cold noodles with chicken is quick and easy to make if you have a moderately well-stocked Sichuan pantry.

Cold noodles, or liangmian, are actually served at room temperature and are their own category of treat in Sichuan. Specifically, liangmian are cold wheat noodles, and liangfen are the cold noodles made from rice or various bean and vegetable starches. This just happens to be a fancy version of liangmian with chicken, and that added chicken transforms the dish from a snack to a meal.

Now for a Quick Detour to Chengdu, to Shop for Liangmian and Its Ingredients

Making Sichuan Liangmian at Home: The Sauce

It’s a singular treat to eat liangmian on the street in Chengdu, but it’s a dish that can also be approximated very well in your home.

A well-stocked Sichuan pantry will include most of the ingredients needed for the sauce: premium soy sauce, black vinegar, Sichuan pepper oil, roasted sesame oil and, optionally, roasted sesame paste. And of course, almost all Sichuan noodle sauces call for chili oil—and specifically a Sichuan-style chili oil, that has as much oil as crisp. A chili “crisp” or “crunch” just won’t provide enough of the red oil needed to make a sauce for Sichuan noodles or other cold dishes. Of course we recommend you make your own chili oil, but you won’t be sorry if you start with The Mala Market’s Chengdu Crispy Chili Oil, since it’s made in Chengdu with the quintessential taste and texture of the local chili oil.

This particular liangmian recipe, which I first adapted from the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine’s cookbook in 2015, also calls for “concocted soy sauce,” or fuzhi, which is soy sauce stewed with sugar and spices, more typically translated as aromatic sweet soy sauce. The fuzhi is what makes this sauce indefinably different when you taste it; its sweetness is mellowed by the other ingredients but its anise-ness is palpably present.

If you will recall, aromatic sweet soy sauce is also a must-have ingredient for zhongshuijiao, or dumplings in red oil—which is yet another reason to always have this concoction on hand. Go ahead and make a large batch; it can hang out forever in the fridge.

The sesame paste is just one of the flavor notes, and not a particularly strong one at that. In fact, many times sesame paste isn’t even a player in this sauce, but if you choose to include it, it lends its own special zing to the final WOW. Try to use Chinese sesame paste, which is dark-roasted and thick (set aside a few minutes for stirring this stuff up when you first open it). Don’t be tempted to substitute either peanut butter or tahini.

Once you’ve pulled all your sauce ingredients from the pantry and fridge, it’s as simple as measuring them all into an empty serving bowl to make the sauce, which can then hang out while you prepare the other components.

The Noodles and Composition of Liangmian

While it is unlikely in the U.S. that you have ready access to fresh alkaline noodles of the type used in Sichuan, a dried alkaline noodle is a very good substitute. A simple, thin wheat noodle will offer no bite or body once boiled, but one with added alkaline will be a worthy, toothsome partner for that punchy sauce.

The only tricky part to making cold noodles is getting the cooked noodles to dry quickly. You don’t want a wet, soggy noodle watering down your sauce. People in Sichuan shake as much water as possible off of them, coat with oil and spread them out to dry so they don’t stick together. I find that dried alkaline noodles throw off a lot of sticky starch, so I rinse the noodles in cold water before coating them with oil and drying. A sheet pan, silicone baking mat or wax paper all work well for this step. The noodles do take a while to dry, so plan ahead for that. My Chengdu friend Rose tells me that she sometimes turns an electric fan on them when she just can’t wait.

As for the chicken, a poached chicken breast works wonderfully here, but a store-bought rotisserie chicken will totally do the trick as well. As the name suggests, the white chicken meat is to be shredded into thin strips by hand, similar in heft to the noodles. The other classic toppings and garnishes include thin strips of cucumber, scallion and fresh red chili. If you happen to have a vegetable peeler with a zigzag blade that easily slivers vegetables, this is the time to use it for the cucumber. Otherwise, use a knife to cut thin slivers. Other good sources of contrasting crunch are blanched bean sprouts and roasted/fried peanuts.

Like most other Sichuan noodles, liangmian are composed, or layered, in the bowl. The sauce goes down first in the bottom of the bowl, the noodles are arranged on top of the sauce, and the toppings crown the noodles. That is how they are served, leaving to the eater the fun of mixing the noodles and toppings into the sauce. But if you want to serve a large bowl of liangmian instead of composing them in individual serving bowls, you can mix the noodles with the sauce in advance and add the chicken and garnishes to the top, making it easier to serve.

Either way, they’ll live up to my poetic name for them. Liangmian is indeed a perfect storm of flavors.

For Kathy’s mother’s potluck-favorite liangmian, try Ma’s Sichuan Liangmian (四川凉面) Spicy Cold Noodles. For a favorite liangfen recipe, visit Heartbreak Jelly Noodles (Shangxin Liangfen, 伤心凉粉).

This recipe was significantly updated and revised in August 2024.