CHILLED SOBA NOODLES WITH WALNUT DIPPING SAUCE
Serves: 6
For the dipping sauce:
■ 1 cup (250 ml) shoyu tare (recipe follows)
■ 3 cups (750 ml) bonito and kombu dashi (recipe follows) or other dashi of your choice
For the noodles:
■ 1 1/2 lb (680 g) soba noodles ( high buckwheat content)
For the garnish:
■ 1 cup (250 ml) toasted finely ground walnuts mixed with 1 tbsp (15 ml) cane sugar
1. Bring the shoyu tare and dashi to boil over medium heat. Lower heat and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off heat. Bring to room temperature. Serve with the noodles. This will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
2. To cook the noodles, bring a stockpot of unsalted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Gently drop the noodles into the boiling water, making sure the water stays vigorously boiling so the noodles don’t stick together.
3. Cook only 2 servings at a time, so the noodles can swim in the pot, but do not stir. Cook the noodles until al dente, about 90 seconds (if they are thin like spaghetti) to 3 minutes (if they are thick like linguine). The timing will vary depending on the thickness of the noodles.
4. Scoop the noodles with a large sieve in one scoop. Transfer the noodles to a strainer that is set in a bowl of water to stop the cooking.
5. Remove any surface starch by rinsing noodles under cold running water. Drain and then rinse the noodles once more.
6. Drain thoroughly by hitting the side and bottom of the strainer but don’t toss the noodles.
7. Serve the noodles immediately in a zaru (Japanese-style bamboo basket), if you have one, or on a large platter with individual serving bowls of dipping sauce and ground walnuts.
8. Invite diners to mix the ground walnuts into the dipping sauce, dip in the noodles and slurp.