Chilled Japanese soba noodles with cucumber and a sesame and miso dressing

Name: Chilled Japanese soba noodles with cucumber and a sesame and miso dressing
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: ice cubes, for chilling the noodles; 1 tbsp mirin (mirin is traditional but you can use white wine or cider vinegar); 100 g soba noodles (100% buckwheat are best for this); 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil; Japanese pickles; ⅓ cucumber, cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler or into small cubes for a contrast with the soba; 1 tsp red miso paste; black and/or white sesame seeds; wasabi paste; 1 tsp soft light brown sugar or palm sugar; sprouted greens (alfalfa, broccoli, cress or radish all work well); 2 spring onions, thinly sliced; grated fresh root ginger; shiso leaves, shredded; ½ tsp soy sauce or kombu sauce

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Solo

By Signe Johansen

Published 2018

About

If you’ve never tried chilled soba noodles you’re in for a treat. I learnt how to make this dish when I spent time in Japan before I went to university. Japanese summers are famously hot and sticky, so this chilled dish has an immediately restorative effect when you’re wilting from the heat.

Ingredients

100 g soba noodles (100% buckwheat are best for this)
⅓ cucumber, cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler or into small cubes for a contrast with the soba

Method

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions until al dente (usually about 5 minutes) then immediately drain and chill in a sieve with a few ice cubes.

Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together in a small bowl and taste. It should have quite a savoury-sour flavour. If necessary, add more vinegar, miso paste or sesame oil until it tastes the way you like it.

Ditch