The noodles should be cooked according to package instructions (8 minutes, usually) and rinsed in cold water. We used wheat-based Udon noodles, but many other varieties should work just as well for this noodle-sauce-veg combo. Shoot for about 100 g of noodles -- a typical bushel in Asian noodle packages -- per person. The amounts below assume four hungry adults.
It is probably best to prepare the sauce simultaneously so that the cold noodles don't dry out and stick together. For the sauce, heat oil in a pan and cook minced ginger and garlic in it for a couple of minutes, not even long enough to brown these root vegetables, let alone burn them. Add soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar to the oil and immediately swirl everything around so the sugar dissolves before the liquid cools completely.
Pour the sauce over the noodles and mix in the vegetables: carrot, celery, green onion, cilantro. It is best to let the noodle salad cool before serving. I suppose the fresh veg could be added after the noodles have cooled, just before serving.
Ingredients for four:
- 400 g Udon noodles
- 4 green onions, cut
- 2 celery stalks, sliced thinly
- 2 large carrots, sliced thinly
- bunch of cilantro / coriander leaves, chopped
Sauce
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp vinegar (anything but balsamic)
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp sugar
It is fair to say that this salad is a close relative of our more generic Asia-inspired salad.