(My another noodle posting...4 days in a row!)Soba salad can become a nice appetizer or a meal itself. In LA, I sometimes find it at a restaurant or deli, but I almost never order it. Even when I find it at a supposedly "gourmet" deli, commercially prepared soba salad often look so mushy, greasy and over-dressed.
The kind of soba salad I know (and I like) is fresh, light, and flavorful. I got the wild-caught Dungeness crab meat from Fish King in the morning, so I used it for the salad. With the sweet crab meat, the humble salad suddenly looked almost fancy. Also, the homemade dashi ponzu gives the refreshingly light feeling while making the salad very flavorful.
Cold Soba Salad with Dashi Ponzu Sauce
Ingredients (for 1 serving)
2.5-3 oz dry soba noodles
1/4 cup dashi ponzu (I substituted the yuzu juice with lemon and lime mixture)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoons ground roasted white sesame seeds
small amount of each julienned carrot, orange bell pepper, konnyaku, scallion, cherry tomatoes (halved)
some crab meat
1 boiled egg, quartered
some yuzu kosho as a condiment
Procedure
1. Cook the soba noodles according to the package's instructions. Drain and rinse in running cold water. Drain any excess moisture again.
2. Transfer the noodles in a bowl and toss with the dashi ponzu. Add the sesame oil, sesame seeds, and vegetables and toss again.
3. Plate the noodle mixture in a shallow serving bowl. Top with the crab meat and arrange the boiled egg quarters around the noodles.
4. Enjoy with some yuzu kosho (optional).
