Tried & Tested: Soba Noodles Recipe

Walking down the aisle at Foodhall, transpired the whole new love for Soba Noodles for me. And, it was probably the most indirect way to add the packet to my cart. I spotted the mirin first and it led me to believe that I'm craving for simple home-cooked noodles that are different from what regular rice or refined flour noodles tasted like. I grabbed both of them and headed home and over the weekend I brought out the packet and did what my tastebuds would love - experimented with a Soba Noodles Recipe.

What are soba noodles?

Soba noodles are thin buckwheat noodles that involve no other grain apart from buckwheat. It is also touted as one of the best options for gluten-free eaters but my reasons to try them were different. I wanted to see how flavours of mirin can make soba noodles sing praises of Asian glory.

A simple recipe that has a lot of alternatives so you can pick and choose the ingredients you enjoy eating rather than stuffing your face with something less appetizing.

So, here's my soba noodles recipe:

1. Take a packet of Soba Noodles and as per instruction behind the packet, bring them to a boil. (If you don't have soba noodles, go for any local noodles or flat rice noodles).

2. I chose three of my favourite noodle pairings like mushrooms, spring onions and spinach for this soba noodles recipe but you could use any vegetable of your choice and as many as you like.

3. Garlic and ginger are potent to Asian cooking and this soba noodles recipe is no exception. So finely chop 6-7 cloves of garlic and crush a quarter inch of ginger finely and you're ready to start cooking it off.

4. Take a wok and heat 2 tablespoons of oil in it. Drop in the garlic and ginger and the white parts of the spring onion.

5. Saute it till the smell leaves the wok and add in the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms start leaving the water, add a handful of spinach and a little salt to bring it together.

6. Now it's mirin time, so in a separate bowl add 1 1/2 tablespoon of mirin, a tablespoon of honey, 1/2 a tablespoon of soy sauce and the same amount of chilli sauce. If you like it spicier you can add whole red chillies or double your chilli sauce measurement.

7. After the veggies are cooked off, stir in the noodles and toss them until each strand is coated with that delicious mirin mix.

8. Garnish with the finely chopped green parts of the spring onion and white sesame seeds. Here you can use both white and black sesame seeds.

9. Ready to serve.

PS: If you don't have mirin handy, avoid it and use oyster sauce and id that isn't readily available, go for just a plain black soy sauce.