This is not really a recipe, more a plea to use buckwheat soba noodles occasionally when cooking an Asian-inspired (particularly Japanese) meal. The nutty and wholesome flavour and firm texture make a change from the ubiquitous egg noodles or plain rice; they’re an excellent accompaniment to things like grilled oily fish, unctuous pork belly, poached chicken breasts or miso-glazed aubergine.
Even if the dish they’re served with is warm, I prefer to rinse soba noodles with cold water and eat them when cool, as they seem to seize up and become claggy if left warm. In the UK, Clearspring, Akagi and Hakubaku are good soba brands to look for.
Ingredients
- 500 g good-quality soba noodles (100 per cent buckwheat)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
How to Make It
- Bring a very large pan of water to the boil. If you put the noodles in cold water or a pan with too little water, they are likely to become starchy and sticky. It might even be best to use 2 pans to cook this quantity.
- Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions (which are probably to simmer them for 5 minutes), then drain. Rinse in a sieve under running cold water until cool.
- Return the noodles to the saucepan or a serving bowl and add the soy sauce, sesame seeds and oil. Mix well and serve.