Green tea noodles

Main Midweek

Serves 4

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Cold noodles on a warm day are as comforting as warm noodles on a cold day. It’s the way they are eaten – holding the bowl with one hand, chopsticks or fork in the other, head slightly lowered; it’s their texture – slippery and substantial; it’s their receptiveness to all the other textures and flavours going on in the same bowl.

Getting ahead: All the components can be made in advance here – the noodles and radishes up to 2 days ahead, the dressing up to 3 days – kept separate, in the fridge, ready for the dish to be assembled in just a minute.

Ingredients note: Wakame has an interestingly oceanic flavour, which works so well against the avocado. The texture is also great: slippery, crunchy and chewy at once. It’s widely available but, as an alternative, packs of sea vegetable salad also work well.

Ingredients

25g	dried wakame seaweed (or a pack of sea vegetable salad)
200g	green tea (or soba) noodles
2 tsp	sesame oil
1	ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
3	spring onions, thinly sliced (45g)
10g	basil leaves
1 tbsp	sesame seeds (a mix of black and white looks great), toasted
SAKE-PICKLED RADISHES
80g	radishes, thinly sliced
2 tbsp	rice (or white) wine vinegar
1 tbsp	caster sugar
2 tsp	sake (or Shaoxing) wine
	salt
LEMON SOY DRESSING
50ml	lemon juice
50ml	rice (or white) wine vinegar
75ml	light soy sauce
2 tbsp	mirin
15g	ginger, peeled and finely grated 1 garlic clove, crushed

Method

Pickle the radishes up to 2 days (or at least 30 minutes) ahead of eating. Place them in a medium bowl and add ¾ teaspoon of salt. Using your hands, gently massage for a minute or two, then add the remaining pickle ingredients. Transfer to a small bowl or jar and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
Rehydrate the seaweed: this takes 30 minutes in cold water (which is the best option) or 10 minutes in hot water. Once rehydrated, drain and roughly tear any very large pieces and set aside in the fridge.
Place all the ingredients for the lemon soy dressing in a large screw-top jar and shake to combine. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add the noodles, stir, then cook for 3 minutes. Add enough cold water to stop the boiling process and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Drain in a sieve and rinse under cold running water. Drain well again, then transfer to a large bowl and add the sesame oil, mixing it through with your hands. Cover and keep in the fridge until cold.
When ready to serve, use your hands to loosen and separate the noodles and add all the dressing, the drained radishes, wakame, avocado, spring onions and basil. Toss gently to mix through, then transfer to a rimmed serving platter or shallow bowl. Scatter over the toasted sesame seeds and serve.