Cold soba noodle salad with salmon

I remember the day I made this one up. I was craving noodles, but cold. And I had some spare salmon in my fridge that needed using so thought okay, this feels like something Asian inspired, so I went to work.

It's a really filling meal so you can eat it and not be hungry again until your next meal.

I love cold noodles and mixed with the crisp cucumbers and fresh spring onion, this meal is super refreshing and packed full of flavor.

It's surprisingly quick to make too, so it's a great option if you have friends coming over for dinner.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 x 120g salmon, skin on

150g soba noodles

3 baby cucumbers, sliced into discs

1 spring onion, finely sliced

1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

1 tbsp olive oil

Marinade

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

3cm piece of ginger, finely grated

2 tsp sesame oil

Dressing

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp water

1 tsp sesame oil

1 garlic clove, smashed

1cm piece of ginger, finely grated

1/2 lemon juice

1 pinch dried seaweed

Method

1. First, mix all the marinade ingredients together and stir until combined.

2. Remove the skin from the salmon and set aside. Dice the salmon into bite size pieces and mix into the marinade. Let it sit in the marinade while you prep the other items.

3. Combine your dressing ingredients and also set aside, letting the garlic infuse into the dressing.

4. Slice up your cucumbers and spring onion, then also, set aside.

5. Cook your soba noodles as per packet instructions. Once cooked, rinse straight away under cold water, to stop the cooking process, then leave them in a bowl of ice with the cucumber and spring onion to chill.

6. Salt the skin of the salmon, and grill on the stovetop until it gets crispy. You can add this later as a crispy garnish on top of your dish.

7. Once all the prep is done, bring a fry pan up to medium heat, add the olive oil and then add the salmon pieces, cooking to your desired doneness.

8. Remove the ice from the noodle mixture, draining any excess water, and place in a bowl. Top with the toasted sesame seeds and mix before adding the dressing, keeping in mind to remove the clove of smashed garlic.

9. Top the noodles with your grilled salmon and crispy skin.

Notes

• All kinds of proteins work for this.

• You can add toasted nuts such as cashew or peanuts for extra texture.

• This dish also works with udon noodles if you prefer a thicker bite.

• Add some flash stir fried greens into it if you'd like some extra veggies.