5 effortless recipes to help you keep your cool and beat the summer heat

Summer is in full swing, and as temperatures hit historic highs all over the world, we know it feels too hot to even think about turning on the stove. But never fear! You can still create amazing meals without turning into a sweaty puddle on the kitchen floor.

From refreshing soba noodles to lunchbox-friendly pinwheel sandwiches, here are five simple recipes that don’t require much cooking and will keep you cool until fall.

4 Hong Kong-inspired Frappuccinos you can make at home this summer

Chocolate Yogurt Clusters

This Instagram-friendly treat from @sweets_melissa via @cookistwow is just as yummy as it looks! Feel free to switch out the fruit for whatever fits your tastes. For non-dairy eaters, vegan yogurt works just as well.

Cooking time: 1hr (includes freezing time)
Yields: 16 clusters

Ingredients:

• 200g fruit

• 40g Greek yogurt

• 200g milk, semisweet or plain chocolate

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

Directions

1. Mix your favourite fruit with yogurt (you can also add some honey if you want).

2. Pour the mixture on a baking sheet and freeze until solid.

3. Melt the chocolate. Dunk the frozen yogurt discs in the chocolate mixture, coating both sides.

4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer.

Cold Soba Noodles with Dipping Sauce

Although soba is Japanese in origin, this dish comes from American author and food journalist Mark Bittman via The New York Times. While not completely traditional, it is the perfect way to cool yourself off. You can even bring a batch to school in a jar and munch away.

Cooking time: 30 mins
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

• Salt

• 1 cup (about 240mL) dashi or chicken stock

• ¼ cup (about 60mL) soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons mirin or 1 tablespoon honey mixed with 1 tablespoon water

• 225g soba noodles

• Finely grated or minced ginger

• Minced scallions or toasted sesame seeds (for garnish, optional)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt.

2. Cook noodles until tender but not mushy.

3. Drain well and quickly rinse under cold running water until cold.

4. Combine dashi or stock, soy sauce and mirin. Taste, and add a little more soy if the flavour is not strong enough.

5. Serve noodles with garnishes and sauce on the side for dipping (or spooning over).

Cool down with these super cool soba noodles. Photo: Shutterstock

Easy Strawberry Lemonade

Cold drinks are a must-have when the weather heats up. This recipe from @smittenkitchen on Instagram puts seasonal produce to good use – and best of all, you need only a blender and a strainer to make the perfect summer refresher.

Cooking time: 10 mins
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4 large lemons, plus a few slices for garnish

• 455 grams fresh strawberries, plus a few extra for garnish

• 65 grams granulated sugar, or to taste

• 2 to 3 cups (475-700mL) water

• Ice

Directions:

1. Cut the skin, including the outer white pith, off your lemons and cut into chunks. Do not worry about the seeds.

2. Chop the stem off your strawberries.

3. Toss the lemon chunks, strawberries, sugar, and first two cups of water into your blender and blend until coarsely puréed. Taste and add more sugar or fruit as needed.

4. Pour through a mesh strainer to remove any seeds; the lemonade will be very potent at this point. Add as much of the remaining cup of water as you want, or all of it, to taste.

5. Fill glasses with ice and pour lemonade, garnishing with extra berries and/or lemon slices. You could also add some soda water, if you like fizz.

How to make a healthier red bean ice drink, Hong Kong’s favourite summer treat

Pinwheel Sandwiches

Beautiful to look at and fun to eat and make, this refreshing sandwich from the Food Network is easily customisable and perfect for a packed lunch. Whether you like tomato, ham, cheese, or turkey, this dish can accompany you on all your summer adventures.

Cooking time: 10 min
Yields: 4 Wraps

Ingredients:

• 1 large head romaine lettuce

• 110g whipped cream cheese

• 4 scallions, thinly sliced

• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard

• Salt and pepper

• Four 10-inch (about 25cm) flour tortillas

• 8 slices deli ham, about 200g

• 1 whole roasted pepper from a jar, sliced into strips

• 1 cup (about 120g) shredded carrots

Directions:

1. Wash and dry the 4 largest outer romaine leaves, trying not to tear them.

2. Cut the leaves at the base; the leaves should be about 22cm long. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the centre rib so the leaves roll up more easily. Set aside.

3. Stir the cream cheese, scallions, mustard, salt, and pepper to taste in a medium bowl to combine.

4. Lay one of the tortillas on a clean work surface, and place a romaine leaf neatly on top. Place 2 slices of ham next to each other to fit neatly on top of the lettuce.

5. Spread 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture over the ham, then line up a quarter of the roasted pepper strips along one edge.

6. Line up 1/4 of the shredded carrots on top of the peppers. Roll up the wrap tightly, starting from the edge with the peppers and carrots, so the wrap holds together with the peppers and carrots in the middle. Place the wrap seam-side down.

7. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, peppers, carrots, ham and cream cheese mixture.

8. Cut the wraps into pieces, then skewer each piece from the top through the seam side with a toothpick or skewer.

Pinwheel sandwiches are the perfect bite-sized treat. Photo: Shutterstock

Smashed Cucumber Salad

This zingy, flavour-packed dish from The Woks of Life is a variant of Chinese cucumber salad, or 拍黃瓜, that goes great with cold noodles. Feel free to skip the chilli oil or cilantro (it’s not for everyone) and cut the cucumbers in whatever shape you’d like.

Cooking time: 10 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 seedless cucumbers (about 600g)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

• 3 teaspoons light soy sauce

• 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 2-4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

• 1-2 teaspoons chilli oil (optional)

• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

• a small handful of chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Wash the cucumbers and pat them dry with a clean towel.

2. Make the salad dressing by combining the salt, sugar, sesame oil, light soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Stir until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Set aside.

3. Lay a large knife flat against the cucumber on a cutting board, and smash it lightly with your other hand. The cucumber should crack open and smash into four sections.

4. Repeat along its full length. Once the whole cucumber is completely open (usually into 4 long sectional pieces), cut it at a 45-degree angle into bite-sized pieces.

5. In a large bowl, mix the cut cucumber with the prepared dressing, garlic and chilli oil. Toss it well.

6. Serve, garnished with sesame seeds and cilantro.

Note: if you prefer to omit the chilli oil, heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and drizzle it over the cucumber. It makes all the difference!