Buckwheat Noodles with Wakame and Ginger

This was a really tasty and flavourful salad. I used up the last of the seaweed my mum brought me back from Japan last year and I also added in some dried radish. 

Buckwheat Noodles with Wakame and Ginger
(from River Cottage Light and Easy by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall)
(Serves 2-4)

15g dried wakame seaweed
150g soba/buckwheat noodles
1 large carrot
1 large courgette
10g toasted sesame seeds

For the dressing
2cm nob ginger, peeled and grated
2 tbsp mirin
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Put the wake into a bowl of cold water to rehydrate. Follow the packet instructions for how long to soak.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to packet instructions, usually 5 mins.  Drain and run under the cold tap to cool down. Drain thoroughly and then tip the noodles into a large bowl.

Peel the carrots and slice into spaghetti or thin matchsticks. I used a julienne peeler but you could use one of these new fangled spiralizers. Do the same with the courgette but don't peel. Add to the noodles.

When the seaweed has plumped up drain it well and squeeze out the excess water with your hands. Chop the seaweed roughly and add to the noodles and veg.

To make the dressing, mix together the ginger, miring, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. Pour this over the noodles and toss so that everything is coated and the ingredients are evenly distributed. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and serve.

Soba Noodles with Wakame

I ended up with way too much wakame in this dish. But on the whole it was really tasty, crunchy dish and the noodles were lovely, I'd forgotten how good cold soba noodles are!

Soba Noodles with Wakame (from Plenty - Ottolenghi)

(Serves 4-6)

2 large cucumbers

2 tsp salt

300g soba noodles

60g wakame

70g toasted sesame seeds

30g coriander leaves, roughly chopped

50g mint leaves, roughly chopped

Sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

grated zest 2 limes

60ml lime juice

1 tbsp grated root ginger

2 red chillies, finely chopped

1 tbsp palm sugar

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp groundnut oil

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

3/4 tsp salt

Shred the cucumbers using a mandolins or veg peeler. Place the cucumber into a colander, sprinkle with the salt and stir well, then leave to drain for at least 30 mins.

Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the noodles and cook for 4-5 mins, or according to packet instructions. Drain and rinse in a stream of cold water to stop the cooking, leave to dry.

Soak the wakame in warm water for about 10 mins or until softened, drain. Remove the tough stalks and discard. Cut or year the rest into large pieces and put into a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked noodles and cucumber to the wakame.

Whisk together the sauce ingredients and add to the noodle mixture. Stir gently, then add the sesame seeds, coriander and mint. Stir well again and taste, you may want to add more salt, sugar or vinegar.

Pile the noodles into serving bowls and serve.