Easy miso sauce for noodles

For ➍ 

1 heaping tbs white miso paste 

1 tbs plain peanut butter or Chinese sesame paste 

1 tbs toasted sesame oil 

½ tbs chili garlic sauce, adjust according to desired spice 

½ tb soy sauce 

1 ts dark soy sauce, optional for colour 

½ tbs maple syrup or other sweetener like mirin

½ tbs rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar 

1 ts minced garlic 

1 scallion chopped 

Mix everything together. Add to the boiled and drained noodles.

Salmon & miso butter & spinach

For ➍
25 g butter, at room temperature
25 g miso paste
1 ts finely grated lemon zest
1 ts lemon juice
250 g spinach
2 shallots
1 clove of garlic
4 tbs oil
salt
4 salmon fillets (150 g each)

Mix the soft butter with the miso paste, the finely grated lemon zest and the lemon juice into a smooth paste. [Put in the center of a piece of cling film. Roll up the foil tightly to form a roll, and twist the sides like with a toffee.]* Cool in the refrigerator.
Clean the spinach, wash the leaves and drain in a colander.
Peel and chop the shallots and garlic clove. Heat 1 tbs of oil in a large saucepan and sauté the shallot and garlic until translucent. Add the spinach. Sprinkle with salt and spoon the spinach leaves until shrunk. Add a little more salt if necessary.  Keep the spinach warm.
Grill the salmon fillet strips over hot coals or fry them in a non-stick pan in 3 tbs of oil.  Allow 3 to 4 m per side**.  Season the grilled or fried salmon with salt and put miso butter on top.
Serve the salmon on a bed of spinach. Serve with glass noodles or soba noodles. ***

*Optional
**The salmon will be glassy inside. If preferred, cook it for 1-2 m longer. 

Alternatively, marinate the salmon in a mix from miso paste, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, fresh garlic, ginger powder & honey. In a cast iron skillet fry the salmon with the non-skin part facing down for 1 m. Then flip salmon over and bring the cast iron into the oven and bake for 8-11 m (depending on thickness of salmon)Send salmon into the oven directly and bake for 11-15 minutes (depending on thickness of salmon). Or bake salmon in the oven directly bake for 11-15 minutes (depending on thickness of salmon). You can mix half of the marinate with 1or 2 tbs of water, boil for a m, and glaze the salmon with it, instead of using the miso butter. 

***Add some sauce to the noodles to spice them up.

Soba & shimeji

For ➍
200 g soba noodles*
10 cl oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
150 g shimeji mushrooms, base discarded, mushrooms separated
1 tbs soy sauce
2 ts miso paste
salt & pepper
2 tbs finely minced parsley

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook the noodles according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over a low heat. Add the garlic cloves. Saute until fragrant, about 30 s.

Turn up the heat.

Add the shimeji mushrooms. Saute until the mushrooms are soft. Lower the heat. Add 1 tbs of noodles' cooking water, the soy sauce, and the miso paste. Stir until the miso is dissolved well. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Leave the sauce to simmer.

Wash the noodles with cold water to remove the starch. Drain the noodles and add them to the sauce.

Stir well to coat every noodle. Serve with chopped parsley.

*Use spaghetti instead.

The shimeji mushrooms grow on the base of trees. They're very tasty, with a peppery flavor, but should not be served uncooked. They're great in stir-fries, or with fish, scallops or white meat. The pioppini mushroom is the European variety.
Read another shimeji recipe.

Noodles with marinated salmon @ wok in orange sauce

For ➍
200 g soba or rice noodles
½ broccoli in florets
100 g green asparagus
1 handful mangetout
400 g salmon, skinless
20 cl fresh orange juice
2 ts fish sauce
2 ts soy sauce
½ tbs sesame seeds (optional)
1 cm ginger, grated
½ chilli, deseeded, cut into rings
2 tbs sesame oil
2 cloves garlic
1 scallion, cut into strips
fresh coriander

Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package.
Make the marinade: put ginger, garlic, orange juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds and chilli in a bowl and mix.
Cut the salmon into chunks and mix among the marinade. Let marinate for 10 m. Set aside.
Bake the salmon pieces (without the marinade) in a wok for 3-4 m. Remove the salmon from the pan and keep aside.
Pour the remaining marinade into the wok and boil for 1 m.
Add the broccoli, mangetout and asparagus. Cook for 5 m until al dente.
Mix the noodles in the marinade.
Serve the noodles with the sauce. Put some salmon chunks on top. Add some spring onions, coriander or seaweed.

Japanese ginger noodles @ wok

For ➍
4 tbs sunflower oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cm fresh ginger
1 tbs sugar
300 g noodles (wok noodles or Japanese soba noodles, cooked  & rinsed with cold water))
300 g smoked chicken breast, cut into strips
3 scallions, sliced ​​diagonally
2 tbs soy sauce

Heat the oil in a wok and fry the garlic, ginger and sugar for 1 m.
Add the noodles, the smoked chicken and add the spring onions. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Season to taste with pepper and soy sauce.
Serve with f.i. broccoli.

*Read tip on using ginger/ garlic in wok.

Hiyashi chuka soba (chilled noodles salad)

For ➋
2 bunches dried udon (or soba) (or ramen) noodles
¼ cucumber, seeded & julienned
2 ts rice vinegar
¼ ts salt
3 slices of ham julienned
1 egg
4 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
vinaigrette:
3 tbs water
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs sesame oil
¼ ts salt
¼-1 ts chili sesame oil*

Put the cucumber, 2 ts of rice vinegar and ¼ ts of salt in a bowl and let it sit.

Whisk the egg with a pinch of salt until the yolk and white are well incorporated. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat until hot. Wet a paper towel with vegetable oil and spread a thin layer of oil onto the pan. Pour just enough egg into the pan to form a thin crepe. Once set, use a spatula to flip and cook the other side until just set. Transfer to a cutting board and repeat until all the egg is done. Stack the egg crepes and roll them together. Use a sharp knife to slice the egg as thinly as possible.**

Boil the udon noodles to directions. When the noodles are done, drain in a colander and run cold water over them until they are at room temperature. Add the noodles to a bowl of ice water to chill the noodles, and then drain well in a colander.

Add the water, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and chili sesame oil into a bowl and whisk together.

Split the noodles between 2 bowls. Top with the pickled cucumber, ham, egg and tomatoes. Pour the vinaigrette over the noodles to taste.

* Optional.
**Or use a 1 egg version of a Japanese rolled omelet.

Chuka suba are (low fat) ramen noodles. In Japan in summer, ramen, soba and udon noodles are served cold with a dressing and some toppings. Try a related vegetarian cold noodles salad.

Gingered soba with mushrooms & snow peas

For ➍-➏
1 l vegetable stock
200 g soba or somen noodles
2 tbs olive oil
1 ts sesame oil
1-2 ts grated fresh ginger
1 tbs soy sauce
100 g snow peas
150-200 g fresh shiitake, stemmed & sliced
2-3 scallions, thinly sliced
freshly ground pepper

Bring the stock or water with bouillon cube to a simmer in a large saucepan. Add the noodles and cook at a rapid boil until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat the oils plus 5 cl water in a stir-fry pan. Stir in the ginger and soy sauce, then add the snow peas and mushrooms. Cook over medium-high, stirring frequently, until the snow peas are tender-crisp and the mushrooms are wilted, 3-4 m.

Add the cooked noodles, their broth and the scallions. Season with pepper. Cook for 2-3 m.

Serve at once in shallow bowls, including some of the broth with each serving.

Chilled soba noodles salad

For ➍
400 g cooked soba noodles
2 ts toasted sesame oil
100 g watercress
100 g red beet leaves or rocket lettuce
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tbs toasted sesame seeds
1 sheet nori (dried seaweed), finely shredded
20 cl dashi-shoyu*
2 ts wasabi paste

Rinse the noodles under cold water and sprinkle with sesame oil. Toss well and set aside to drain.

To make the dressing, mix together the soy dashi and the wasabi paste. Put the noodles and the salad leaves in a large mixing bowl and toss to mix. Divide the noodle salad among 4 plates. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, garnish with the chopped spring onions, sesame seeds and shredded nori.

Serve immediately.

*Dashi-shoyu is a soy sauce variance on dashi, the Japanese seaweed broth. Read a recipe or buy ready made.

Soba noodles, made of buckwheat, become very popular in Japan when the heat is high.
Most Japanese noodles, including soba, are rinsed rather vigorously in cold running water. This not only cools them down but gets rid of excess starch, which adversely affects the flavor of the noodles.
Try a similar salad idea with ramen noodles.