Japanese Vegetarian Buckwheat Noodles

Pastas and Stir-fries, Side Dishes, Side Dishes, Side Dishes.
This simple dish marries the earthy flavour of buckwheat noodles (soba) with the forest (shiitake mushrooms) and the sea (nori seaweed). Nori and wasabi are available in many supermarkets and Japanese and Korean shops. Wasabi lovers might like extra to serve on the side. 

Japanese Vegetarian Buckwheat Noodles

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredients
8 dried shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup (50 mL) soy sauce
2 tbsp (25 mL) sake or dry sherry
1 tbsp (15 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 English cucumber
12 oz (375 g) soba noodles
1 tsp (5 mL) wasabi powder
1 sheet nori (laver seaweed)
8 radishes, thinly sliced
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Break off shiitake stems. In small saucepan, soak caps and stems in 2 cups (500 mL) warm water until softened, about 30 minutes. 2. Add soy sauce, sake and sugar; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid for sauce; let cool. Discard stems; thinly slice caps and set aside. 3. Meanwhile, cut cucumber in half lengthwise; thinly slice crosswise. Set aside. 4. In large pot of boiling water, cook noodles until tender but firm, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and chill under cold water; drain well. Divide among 4 bowls. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate sauce, mushrooms, cucumber and noodles separately for up to 8 hours.) 5. Mix wasabi powder with 1 tsp (5 mL) water and let stand for 5 minutes; whisk into sauce. Cut nori sheet into thin strips. 6. Attractively top noodles with shiitake, cucumber and radishes. Sprinkle with sauce, onion and nori. Makes 4 servings. Nutritional information Per serving: about 344 cal, 17 g pro, 1 g total fat (trace sat. fat), 74 g carb, 5 g fibre, 0 mg chol, 1,485 mg sodium. % RDI: 3% calcium, 16% iron, 3% vit A, 15% vit C, 22% folate. 

Source: The Canadian Living Test Kitchen. For more delicious Tested Till Perfect recipes, visit http://www.canadianliving.com