Can you believe it is October? It is so easy to lose the track of time this year. I know fall has started in many parts of the world, but where I live late summer weather, which is a lot more bearable than early and mid summer weather, is here to stay for another few weeks. I promised to post more cold noodle recipes during this summer but I only seem to have shared them on my Instagram. (By the way, please check out my Instagram if you haven’t yet). So I decided to share 3 recipes today. They are all quick and easy, healthy and light with a little kick from spicy sauce. They are perfect for summer but good for any time of the year.
Cold buckwheat noodles with crunch vegetables and spicy fusion sauce – Serves 4
Noodles and veggies
* 400g/14.1oz. buckwheat/soba noodles
* 2 carrots (2cups. peeled)
* 200g/7.05oz. green beans, cut into 4-5cm length, blanched for a couple of minutes
* 1 1/2 cup. canned sweet corn kernels
Spicy Sauce
* 2 tbsp. soy sauce
* 2 tbsp. Korean chili paste “gochujang”
* 2 tbsp. dijon mustard
* 2 tbsp. mirin
* 3 tsp. minced garlic
* 3 tbsp. sesame oil
* 1 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
* 2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
Peel carrots into thin strips, cut and blanch green beans and drain canned sweet corn kernels.
Place cooked green beans in ice cold water to keep them crunchy.
Cook noodles in boiling water for 4-5 minutes.
Meanwhile mix all the ingredients for the sauce except for sesame seeds.
Drain cooked noodles and rinse under cold running water. Cool it in the fridge for a few minutes if you want it to be cooler.
Mix noodles and veggies with sauce in a large bowl.
Mix in most of the sesame seeds. Sprinkle the rest to garnish before serving.
Spicy cold soba with young radish kimchi and gochujang sauce – Serves 2
Young radish/Yeolmu kimchi tends to have more water contents, zingy and refreshing than other types of kimchi. But if you don’t have it good old cabbage one will work just fine.
Sauce – Mix them all and set aside
* 1 tbsp. soy sauce
* 1 tbsp. gochujang
* 1 tbsp. sesame oil
* 1/2 tbsp. mirin
* 1 tsp. kimchi juice
* a pinch of sugar (optional)
Noodles and toppings
* 2 eggs
* 180g. buckwheat/soba noodles
* 2/3 cup. young radish or cabbage kimchi, chopped into bite size
* 2 cucumbers, sliced
* sesame seeds to garnish
Boil eggs for 7-8mins (for soft runny yolk). Place boiled eggs in cold water to stop the cooking process.
Cook noodles in boiling water for 3-4 minutes then add in cold water and cook for another minute.
Drain and rinse under cold running water.
All you have to do now is to mix in the sauce, kimchi, sliced cucumber, eggs with soba, sprinkle some sesame seeds and slurp 😉
One pot green noodle bowl with spicy sauce – Serves 2
Mix 3tbsp. soy sauce, 2tbsp. sesame oil, 2tbsp. mirin, 1tsp. minced garlic and 1tbsp. chili oil or sauce of your choice and set aside.
Add 200g/7.05oz. green tea vermicelli or soba and 2cup. frozen peas into a pot of boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add 1cup. cold water in a pot and cook for 2 minutes. Then add in 80g/2.8oz. baby spinach and cook for 30-40 seconds.
Drain them all and mix with sauce spicy sauce in a serving bowl. You can serve as it is, or cool in the fridge if you want it to be cold.
Garnish with a generous sprinkle of sesame seeds, enjoy!