Do you prefer noodles hot or cold? Soba noodles are good both ways. Toss them with this flavour-packed sauce and you’ve got yourself a pretty sweet meal.

I adapted this recipe from Simply Reem and it worked well. I changed around the proportions and added a few more things, but it’s basically the same and very yummy.

A word of advice when you’re cooking the noodles: I followed the directions on the pack, and was put off because they seemed a little slippery. I was afraid I had overcooked them, but just take them out of the pot and strain them, then toss with sauce. Don’t worry about it too much!

Also, if you’re gluten intolerant and want to make these, just make sure you buy 100% buckwheat flour ones that don’t have any added wheat flour.

Sidenote: I got a food scale for my birthday earlier this week and it’s so cool! You can enter food codes and measure calories and everything like that, so I may begin to put some nutritional info in the posts.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 cup scallions, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. chili oil
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. mirin
• 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar (if you don’t have this on hand, you can substitute it with white wine vinegar..dilute it if necessary)
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 3 tbsp. lime juice
• 3 tbsp. orange juice
• 1 tbsp. sriracha or other hot sauce
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 90oz pack soba noodles
• 2 tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
• 4 radish, marked with a knife to expose the whites and soaked in cold water (this is just for the look, you can also just slice them and they will taste the same)
• Lime wedges to taste
• Orange wedges to taste

Method

In a large bowl, combine every ingredient from scallions to black pepper (scallion, ginger, cilantro, sesame oil, chili oil, soy sauce, mirin, rice wine vinegar, honey, lime juice, sriracha, black pepper). Allow ingredients to sit, uncovered, for 15 minutes so the flavours can mix together and strengthen.

Cook the soba noodles as directed on the package. I brought salted water to a boil, added the noodles, let them boil for a minute, then simmered the noodles in hot water for 3 more minutes. Strain the noodles.

If you want cold noodles, rinse them after straining with cold water a few times, then make sure they are well strained again. If you want hot noodles, toss them directly with the sauce after they have been strained.

Toss the sauce and noodles. Serve sprinkled with lime juice, orange juice, toasted sesame seeds and a radish.