Chilled Sesame Noodles and Sesa-Miso Dressing Recipe

Chilled Sesame Noodles with Balsamic Mushrooms, Lime Slaw With Sesa-Miso Dressing

Noodle salads are one of the greatest gifts to home cooks who are time-poor. With quick-cook noodles ready in two minutes, we’re always shocked by how fast you can whip up something nutrient-dense that packs a flavour punch. This is a cold bowl of umami flavour pops that will recharge your batteries, while reserving your energy thanks to the minimal effort it requires. It’s also a great base recipe to get creative with – mix-and-match the dressing, toppings and crunch, serve hot or cold, and even loosen out the drizzle with coconut milk for an energising noodle soup. Always keep some quick-cook noodles to hand – you never know when your batteries might run low.

 

Chilled Sesame Noodles with Balsamic Mushrooms, with Lime Slaw

  Serves 2

• Quick build
• Gut happy

  Ingredients 2 x 200g sachets pre-cooked udon noodles 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp tamari or light soy sauce 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp sesame seeds 240g shiitake mushrooms or chestnut mushrooms 150g red cabbage 1 lime (juice) 1 pinch of sea salt 3 tbsp kimchi (optional) Small handful of fresh coriander leaves   Tip  Add a jammy egg to boost the protein of this bowl. Prepare a bowl of iced water. Boil some salted water and carefully drop in 1–2 eggs. Leave to cook for 6.5 minutes before moving to the iced water to cool completely. Peel, halve and lay on top of your mushrooms.  

1. Preheat the oven to 220 ̊C/200 ̊C fan and boil the kettle.
2. Place the udon noodles into a heat-proof bowl, then cover with boiling water. Let the noodles sit for 2 minutes, then use tongs to agitate them into individual strands. Drain off the hot water and either place the noodles in a bowl of iced water, or rinse with cold water to cool.
3. Place the vinegar, tamari or soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds into a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Rinse any dirt off the mushrooms, then tear or chop the largest ones in half. Keep any smaller ones whole, and remember they will shrink in the oven, so, if in doubt, leave them whole. Add the mushrooms to the bowl of marinade and use your hands to mix them well in order to coat, ensuring the sesame seeds are evenly distributed. Transfer to a parchment-lined roasting tray and place in the oven for 18 minutes.
4. While the mushrooms are cooking, thinly slice your red cabbage using a sharp knife, a mandolin or a vegetable peeler. Place into a bowl and dress with the juice of half the lime and the pinch of sea salt. Mix well with your hands until the cabbage is well coated and starting to soften.
5. Add 6 tablespoons of Sesa-Miso Dressing to the cooked and cooled udon noodles and pour onto your serving dish. Add the limey cabbage slaw, kimchi and cooked mushrooms, making sure you include all the juices and sesame seeds left on the tray after cooking. Add Sesa-Miso Dressing and the juice of the other half of the lime. Top with the Toasted Furikake Seeds and a small handful of coriander leaves.

 

Sesa-Miso Dressing

It’s a non-negotiable for us to have some of this kicking about as a silky drizzle for salmon, a dressing for mushrooms or a sauce for some soba noodles. These are all ten-minute dinners that really fuelled us through the early (long) days of The Salad Project, which ultimately inspired this book!   Dresses 4-6 salads  Ingredients 20g sesame seeds (black add lovely colour, but white are great, too) 10g fresh ginger 80g tahini 30g white miso paste 40ml rice wine vinegar 40ml tamari or light soy sauce 80ml water, plus extra if needed  

1. Place your sesame seeds into a dry pan and place over a medium heat, swirling the pan constantly, until they are nice and toasted - about 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
2. Peel your ginger using the edge of a teaspoon and grate into a blender. Add the remaining ingredients, excluding your toasted sesame seeds, and blitz until smooth. You can also just pop all your ingredients into a jar and give it a good shake if you don't mind a bit of texture from the ginger.
3. Finish by stirring through your toasted sesame seeds and adjusting the texture with a little extra water, if needed - but I'd recommend keeping this dressing on the thicker side, in case you want to use it as a noodle sauce. Store in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

  These recipes are from the upcoming The Salad Project: How to Build Unlimited Salads (£25, Ebury Press) by Clem Haxby, which is available to preorder now, photography by Haraala Hamilton If you enjoyed this, you may also enjoy Mowgli Street Food: Recipes from Nisha Katona's Mowgli Street Food Restaurant