Recipe: Soba noodle salad with pork, egg and ginger-soy dressing

Create an easy and impressive-looking lunch next time you have friends around.

Soba noodles are made primarily from buckwheat flour and are usually served cold in a salad or hot in a soup. This salad has a great variety of textures and the tangy dressing adds a beautiful bright flavour.

Soba noodle platter

Serves 4

Ingredients

160g soba noodles

100g thin slices of cooked pork

4 eggs, boiled for 8 minutes

2 radishes, thinly sliced

¼ cucumber, sliced into thin ribbons

2 spring onion, sliced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 avocado, sliced

A handful of baby lettuce

Ginger soy dressing

⅓ cup apple cider vinegar

4 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp runny honey

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

3 Tbsp water

To serve:

Lemon wedges

Nori sheets (sushi seaweed), cut into thin strips

Wasabi

Mayonnaise

Method

1. Prepare the soba noodles according to the packet instructions. Rinse well in cold water and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, boil eggs in boiling water for 8 minutes. When the time is up, place the eggs immediately in the iced water to cool. Peel them and cut them in half.
3. Prepare salad vegetables. Sprinkle lemon juice on avocado.
4. Place all the ingredients for the ginger soy dressing in a jar and shake well.
5. Arrange soba noodles and all other salad components on a platter with the laved eggs on top. Place the lemon wedges, nori strips, mayonnaise, and wasabi in small bowls on the side. Serve the dressing in individual small bowls for each person.

NOTE: Some people like to drizzle dressing over their portion of the salad while others prefer to dip into the dressing. The pork can be swapped out for any other cooked meat, or you can leave it out for a vegetarian option.