The craving for Korean food starts when I'm halfway through reading Crying in H Mart. This gut-wrenching memoir about maternal loss speaks volumes to me. No one really gets over the loss of one's mother, but cooking her repertoire helps assuage the loss. Then I read and watch Pachinko and the same themes reverberate. So I step into the kitchen.
Cooked soba noodles are drenched with a heap of kimchi which is chopped up and added to a soy and rice wine dressing. It adds the requisite spiciness. Cucumber batons add crunch. This is my riff on the traditional cold soba noodle salad with local character.
SOBA NOODLES WITH KIMCHI DRESSING
Serves 4
DF, VG, EF, V
1/2 lb Soba noodles
1 cup Kimchi
2 teaspoons light Soy sauce
1 teaspoon Rice Vinegar
3 teaspoons toasted Sesame Oil
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
2 tablespoons toasted Sesame Seeds
1 English Cucumber
Cook noodles in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Place noodles in a bowl. Stir in 1 teaspoon of sesame oil into noodles.
Chop kimchi into small bits.
Cut cucumber into 2" batons.
Whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar, rest of the sesame oil, sugar and 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds.
Add kimchi to dressing.
Spoon the dressing over the noodles.
Top with cucumber.
Scatter sesame seeds over noodles.
Serve noodles at room temperature or cold.
Cool and refreshing, this salad makes a perfect accompaniment to any meal, not just Korean.
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