In the heat of the summer we find ourselves craving tart and sour foods as they are refreshing. Cold noodles are also a staple this time of year. Soba and somen noodles are often served with a soy sauce dipping sauce called tsuyu. This recipe was on NHK recently and it looked so good we made it the next day.
This chilled soba recipe is a one dish meal. Ground chicken is sautéed and set aside to cool. Cucumbers are sliced thin, sprinkled with salt and after resting for a few minutes squeezes of its excess water. Aromatic myōga are sliced thin. Combine the cooked chicken, cucumbers, and myōga in a bowl and season with some neriumé (uméboshi paste). Top the mixture over cold soba noodles and add a small amount of tsuyu.
It's a nice change-up to the simple version of soba. The meaty and crunchy vegetables are a nice contrast and it's all brought together with puckering tart uméboshi.
