Our friends Earnest and Yuri Migaki make beautiful handmade miso you can purchase at local groceries under the Jorinji Miso brand. Recently, we collaborated at a local event to showcase our noodles with dressings made from their misos. Yuri concocted a dressing for her take on hiyashi chukka, that classic Japanese summer noodle salad with delicate slices of egg omelet, cucumber, and tomato. She kindly shared her recipe, which features a surprise ingredient: almond milk.
To compose this dish, you cook noodles, chill them in ice water or under cold running water, toss with a little oil, and lay them in bowls. Julienned veggies, egg, and sometimes ham, boiled shrimp, and boiled bean sprouts are placed on top. Each person gets to pour as much dressing as they want over the salad. The dressing is simple to make: just whisk everything together. This is a refreshing one!
Active time: 15 minutes | Easy | Makes 3 servings
1 package (12 ounces) Umi Organic ramen noodles
1 tablespoon sesame or neutral oil
Sauce
3 tablespoons miso
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons almond milk
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
Toppings
3 ounces cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks
3 ounces tomato, sliced into wedges (or cherry tomatoes cut in half), or roasted beets, sliced
2 eggs, whisked
Toasted sesame seeds
Nori
Chili oil to taste
Directions
1. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Add noodles, stir, and cook in boiling water for 2 minutes. Dunk in an ice bath or rinse in cold running water until noodles feel chilled to the touch. Drain well and toss with oil to coat.
2. Put miso, white vinegar, almond milk, water, canola oil, sesame oil, and sugar in a bowl and mix well.
3. Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. (If you don't have nonstick, add a little oil to your most seasoned pan.) Pour the egg in a thin layer like a crepe. Lift the pan to move egg to every corner. Cook until just set. Remove from heat. Repeat with remaining egg, until all egg has been used. Thinly slice egg into what the Japanese call "golden threads." Set aside.
4. Divide noodles between shallow bowls. Put veggies and sliced egg on top. Pour sauce over the top. Top with optional sesame seeds and nori, and serve with chili oil.
Photo by Shawn Linehan.
