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Spicy Soba
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Asian dry noodles are
best for this – you can even use a packet of ramen, and just replace the
overly-salty flavour-packet with this tasty sauce. I use soba, a
buckwheat noodle, most of the time, but I also like this with the skinny
somen noodles, made from wheat (a little like vermicelli). Most recipes
for spicy soba that I've seen are as a side dish, and often involve fish
sauce or other complicated things. This is a main dish, and is
perfect for those evenings when you can't face another take-out dinner,
the weather is too miserable to venture out into the world to go to a
restaurant, and you really don't feel like cooking. It is healthy,
it is economical, and it is easy. Serve hot or chilled!
Serves 2
Total prep and cooking time: 15
minutes
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6 oz. dried soba noodles
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons seasoned
rice vinegar
½ - 1 teaspoon sambal
oelek (or other hot chile paste)
2 cloves of garlic,
crushed or minced
2 tablespoons finely
minced fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon toasted sesame
oil
1 green onion, thinly
sliced or slivered
(optional)
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Optional Upgrades:
A dozen frozen prawns,
tossed into the soba cooking water after pasta has been removed (cook
only until defrosted and pink, just a few minutes)
Steamed broccoli
Pan-fried
gyoza |
Heat a large pot full
of water until boiling. Do not add salt to the water. Add soba and cook
until al-dente.
While the water is
coming to the boil, mix the spicy dressing (except the green onion) in the
bottom of a large bowl. Taste, and adjust – add a little more garlic, or
ginger or whatnot. If it is a little too spicy for you, add a
half-teaspoon of honey.
Remove the noodles
from the cooking water (save some of the water) and place, steaming, into
the bowl with the dressing. The hot noodles will begin to absorb the
liquids very quickly, so immediately toss to coat each noodle. If the
noodles look a little gummy or claggy, and are sticking to each other, add
a little of your saved cooking water to thin them out. Just a few
tablespoons will do it. If you like, add an extra splash of soy sauce.
Garnish with the
green onions, and any of the optional extras listed above (or whatever
tickles your fancy). Serve proudly, as if it took hours to make.
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