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Cold Shabu Shabu Noodle Salad

Servings:
4
RATE THIS RECIPE
(24)

Chef notes

This is my go-to on warm nights when it's almost too hot to cook, but I'm craving a seasonal, veggie-forward, cold noodle salad. The pork slices, borrowed from the Japanese hot pot, shabu shabu, is named after the swish-swash of the meat as it cooks in boiled water for mere seconds. Optional — but highly recommended — is the tender pork, the perfect complement to the seasonal salad mix of chrysanthemum greens, radishes and other spring-into-summer faves. Sesame seeds, seaweed flakes, radishes and other nourishing ingredients make their way into this warm-weather favorite.

Ingredients

Noodle Salad
  • 1 package soba noodles (one bundle per eater)
  • 1/2 pound pork thinly sliced (about 6 slices per salad)
  • 2 cups green salad leaves, like chrysanthemum greens
  • 1/2 pound daikon or assorted radishes, cut into thin matchsticks
  • 1 cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks
  • 1 tomato, thinly sliced
Dressing
  • 2 tablespoons sesame paste
  • 2 tablespoons sake
  • 2 tablespoons mirin
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 cup dashi
To serve
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, for sprinkling
  • nori flakes

Preparation

For the noodle salad:

Boil a pot of water for the soba noodles, which cook in a couple of minutes. Cook the noodles and set aside. Reserve the boiling water to quickly cook the pork by swishing the thin slices. Set aside.

For the dressing:

Mix all the ingredients and keep refrigerated until ready to assemble.

To serve:

Assemble the salads by layering the noodles on the bottom of the bowl, followed by the greens and topped with the assorted vegetables and pork slices. Drizzle dressing over the salad and garnish with sesame seeds and nori flakes.