Perfect for a hot summer day. Here’s one of my most basic cold noodle dishes which I never get tired of all my life. Donabe can make a perfect serving vessel, and it also makes a wonderful presentation, along with a variety of toppings.
For the dipping sauce, I have this staple soy-based sauce, Kaeshi, always in handy. Kaeshi is a multi-purpose sauce I use for so many things. I pour over noodle by mixing with water/ dashi, chicken, fish, salad, etc.
Here is another cold noodle dish with the classic topping combination of salmon roe and grated daikon (“ikura oroshi” – the other dish I posted with the combo is with cold soba and you can find a link here). This is served over udon and the broth is rich in dashi with a refreshing accent with yuzu juice and rice vinegar. The broth is so soothing, so you can drink it up, too.
You can make your own variations with different toppings such as chicken tender, roasted vegetables, wakame, eggs, or anything you like. I also like it with grilled eggplant!
This cold udon dish has a very tasty and refreshing broth made of soymilk and golden sesame paste. It’s poured over the udon and really makes the dish so special. For this broth, I use my Dashi Shoyu (rich dashi-flavored soy sauce) as a base seasoning. This Dashi Shoyu is extremely versatile and can be used it on its own as a seasoning for sautéed dish or can be mixed other liquid (can be just water) to make a broth or a sauce. So, I keep my Dashi Shoyu in my fridge always. Once you make a batch of it, you can keep it for up to a month or even longer.
The toppings can be basically anything you like, so you can be creative.
This is a quick appetizer/side dish which requires little time for prepping. Toban cooks vegetables so effectively, allowing for them to become nicely charred. When the Smoked Soy Sauce is drizzled over the okra, it sizzles and brings an irresistible aroma. Finish with a generous mound of Shaved Katsuobushi, and sprinkle some Shichimi Togarashi. The katsuobushi will dance slowly on the okra and make a very appetizing presentation. I love making this dish with okra during the summer; asparagus is also great.
This dish is especially simple to make, as the ingredients are just corn, water, sea salt and kudzu (arrowroot starch). Really, that’s it, and every time I make this dish, everybody becomes crazy about it. The texture is nicely jiggly and the flavor is packed with rich natural flavors of fresh corn. Enjoy with a little bit of wasabi paste, if you like. In the photo below, I used sliced, blanched okra for decoration. This dish is such a nice summer treat.
