Sesame cold soba noodle and miso soup

Sesame cold noodle is a classic summer dish in the north China to chill off the summer heat. When I moved to Beijing for college and tried this dish for the first time, I was like "What is this? how can cold noodle not be spicy? Well, if it's not spicy,it's flavorless" So I hated it in the beginning, because it overthrew my concept of cold noodle which in my hometown was always dressed in chili oil sauce. However, after having lived in Beijing for 3 years, I fell in love with this food. The sesame sauce rich and creamy, the noodle al dente, with crisp cucumber slices, it's an ideal light and yummy summer food!It takes only 15 minutes to make!

After raining for 3 days, the sky finally cleared out. I found some soba noodle in the closet and made this dish to savor the last bit of summer.

Bon appetit! Have a good weekend!

Chinese style sesame cold soba noodle 

Serving 1

Ingredients:

1 cup soba noodle

2 tbsp sesame paste (i got it from the Asian grocery store)

6 tbsp warm water

1/2 tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp soy sauce

2tsp sugar

1 tbsp sesame oil

Garnish:

1 piece chicken breast

a handful of cucumber strips
a handful Enoki mushroom
toasted sesame seeds

Steps:

1. mix together sesame paste, water, minced garlic, soy sauce, sugar to make the sauce. Shred cucumber into thin strips.

2. cook soba noodle as instruction. It takes about 3 minutes. Drain immediately and save the hot water aside. Rinse the noodle under cold water until it cools down, and then toss with sesame oil to prevent it from sticking together. 

3. put the hot water back to a pot and heat on the stove. When it starts boiling again, put in the chicken breast and Enoki mushroom to cook until all chicken meat turns white. Drain and rinse with cold water and hand-pull the meat into thin strips.  

4. Pour the sauce over noodle and garnish with chicken, mushroom and cucumber strips. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Miso soup  

Servings 4

Ingredients:

2 tsp dashi granules

4 cups water

3 tbsp miso paste

1 package silken tofu, diced

a handful Enoki mushroom

1 green onions, sliced

seaweed for garnish

Steps:

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine dashi granules and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and whisk in the miso paste. Stir in tofu and mushroom. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.Garnish with green onion and seaweed.