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I have soft spots for noodles (or maybe I should say food ?) and whenever I see noodle recipes, I’m always tempted to try them. This cold soba noodles with grated daikon was one of the simplest noodle dish I’ve ever made. The main work is perhaps on preparing the mentsuyu broth, but not too complicated either. Don’t let simplicity of this dish fools you. In fact, this is simplicity at its best. The dish is meatless, so, I normally wouldn’t like meatless dish so much. I’m a carnivore and that’s just the fact I can’t deny. However, the combination of the mentsuyu broth, the daikon and the noodles is quite addicting to me. The original recipe calls for 1 1/3 cup of soy sauce and I have a high threshold for saltiness and I found it a bit at a salty side, o I cut it down to 3/4 cup soy sauce instead. This is also a very healthy and quick dish to prepare. I can see this served as appetizer or an entree.
COLD SOBA NOODLES WITH GRATED DAIKON
Ingredients
- 13 oz dried soba noodles
- 13 oz daikon mooli or Japanese white radish
- 1 ⅔ cups mentsuyu see below
- Nori seaweed
- Finely sliced scallions
- Wasabi- to garnish
- FOR THE MENTSUYU:
- 2 x4-inch pieces kombu seaweed dried kelp
- ¾ - 1 ⅓ cup soy sauce
- I suggest start with 3/4 cup and adjust if not salty enough for you
- 1 cup mirin
- scant 1/4 cup superfine sugar
- 2 oz katsuobushi dried fish flakes
Instructions
- To make mentsuyu: to remove any excess saltiness from the kombu, either lightly wash the kombu seaweed uner running water then pat dry or wipe with a damp cloth. Put 3 1/2 cups water in a saucepan, add the kombu, and leave for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the thickness of the kombu
- Add the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar to the water and kombu, and place over medium heat
- Just before it comes to a boil add the katsuobushi and boil for 2-3 minutes, after which remove from the heat and let it stand until all the flakes have sunk to the bottom of the saucepan. Then strain into a bottle or a jar, allow to cool and then refrigerate
- Peel and finely grate the daikon so it looks like mashed potatoes
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and add the soba noodles, being carefully they do not stick in the water. When it comes to a boil, add a cup of cold water-this will help ensure the soba noodles are cooked perfectly
- Bring back to a boil and cook according to the package instructions
- When cooked, strain and rinse under running cold water, to stop the noodles from becoming too soft. Drain thoroughly
- Divide the noodles into individual serving bowls, place some grated daikon on top, and add the mentsuyu by carefully pouring it in at the edge of each bowl
- Garnish with nori seaweed, sliced scallions, and wasabi
