Umeboshi and Chicken Summer Soba

In the heat of the summer we find ourselves craving tart and sour foods as they are refreshing. Cold noodles are also a staple this time of year. Soba and somen noodles are often served with a soy sauce dipping sauce called tsuyu. This recipe was on NHK recently and it looked so good we made it the next day.

This chilled soba recipe is a one dish meal. Ground chicken is sautéed and set aside to cool. Cucumbers are sliced thin, sprinkled with salt and after resting for a few minutes squeezes of its excess water. Aromatic myōga are sliced thin. Combine the cooked chicken, cucumbers, and myōga in a bowl and season with some neriumé (uméboshi paste). Top the mixture over cold soba noodles and add a small amount of tsuyu.

It's a nice change-up to the simple version of soba. The meaty and crunchy vegetables are a nice contrast and it's all brought together with puckering tart uméboshi.

Hiyashi-jiru Chilled Miso Soup

Summer has officially arrived in Tokyo and it's been unbearably hot. While we like to start our mornings with miso soup, a hot bowl of soup just is not appetizing in this weather.

Hiyashi-jiru is a cold miso soup. I first had it when visiting Miyazaki prefecture. It's a regional dish that is popular in Miyazaki. Miyazaki is on the southern island of Kyushu. When I first heard about the dish, before my trip to Miyazaki, I couldn't imagine that it would be delicious, but it was surprisingly refreshing. It was a hit this morning, and I have a feeling we'll be eating a lot of it before autumn comes.

The miso soup starts with dashi. Before adding the miso to the dashi, it is cooked in a non-stick pan to bring out some roasty notes. Once the miso is incorporated into the dashi put it in a metal bowl and put the bowl into a larger bowl that had ice water in it to cool down the miso soup. Then add a thinly sliced cucumber, myōga, and a can of tuna.

Toast some sesame seeds in a pan and then grind the toasted sesame seeds.

Check the temperature to see if it is chilled. If not, feel free to add a few small ice cubes to the soup.

Pour the miso soup over rice and garnish with the ground, toasted sesame seeds.

Variations: add shredded shiso, okra, or cooked chicken.

Myoga, Okra, and Cucumber Miso Soup

The markets are overflowing with crunchy vegetables like crisp cucumbers, myōga, and okra. The combination in miso soup is a nice break from our routine of wakamé and tōfu. The myōga, like a gentle ginger, is aromatic and is crispy. A great contrast to the okra that becomes a bit slippery when warmed up. Thin sliced cucumber added at the last minute adds a unique flavor to miso soup.