The hot weather lately is becoming unbearable. I decided to save myself from the hot kitchen by tossing a salad for lunch. The only cooking involves boiling the soba, which only takes 4 minutes on the stove if you use an electric kettle to boil the water beforehand.
I halved the portion and dropped miso and tahini from the original recipe as I wanted a light clear dressing. Instead of soy sauce, I seasoned the salad with liquid aminos, something I have grown to like with soba. Rice vinegar provided a nice tangy finish to the dressing, I also added more sesame oil than the original recipe.
Cucumber Cold Soba Salad
adapted from cookie and kate 1 bunch of soba noodles 1 small japanese cucumber 1 stalk scallions, chopped 1 stalk cilantro, chopped 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger 1 tablespoon liquid aminos or, light soy sauce 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
Cook soba according to instructions on the packaging. Drain and rinse with cold water until the noodles are at room temperature.
To prepare Japanese cucumber, use a vegetable peeler to peel skin, use a knife and julienne the peel into thin strips. Cube the rest of the cucumber and set these aside.
In a bowl, whisk to mix rice vinegar, grated ginger, liquid aminos, sesame oil and red pepper flakes. Adjust according to taste. Mix this dressing to coat the cooked soba noodles in a large bowl. Then toss in cubed cucumber and the julienned peels, chopped scallions and cilantro, and black sesame seeds. Adjust seasoning further to liking.
Serve immediately.
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