This is an altered version of my ‘Soba & Pork Salad With Mentsuyu Sauce’. When I wanted to eat something spicy, I added extra ingredients to the ‘Mentsuyu’ (Noodle Dipping Sauce). You can eat the noodles and salad with the sauce as a dipping sauce, or just pour it over.

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Makes

2 Servings

Ingredients

2 servings Soba Noodles
150 to 200g Pork *thinly sliced
Salt & Pepper
A few thin slices Ginger *cut into fine strips
1/8 Onion *thinly sliced
Salad Vegetables *into thin strips

Sauce
1/4 cup Mentsuyu *see Method 1
1 tablespoon Toasted Sesame Seeds *lightly ground
1 to 2 teaspoons Miso *start with 1 teaspoon and check the flavour
1 to 2 teaspoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Grated Ginger
1/2 Spring Onion *finely chopped
1 to 2 teaspoons Toban Djan (Chilli Bean Sauce) OR some Fresh Chilli

Method

1. If you want to make Mentsuyu just for this dish, combine 1/4 cup Water, 1/8 teaspoon Dashi Powder, 1 & 1/2 tablespoons Soy Sauce and 1 tablespoon Mirin in a small saucepan, bring to the boil, and simmer for a minute. Then allow to cool.
2. To make the Sauce, combine all the Sauce ingredients, then set aside in the fridge. *Add Miso cautiously because some Miso are very salty.
3. Slice Pork as thinly as you can. The thinner, the better. If not thin enough, you can pound the slices using a meat mallet.
4. Lightly season with Salt & Pepper. Cook in the boiling water until colour changes, it won’t take long, drain, rinse under cold water, then drain well. Mix with Ginger, Onion and Salad Leaf Mix, and set aside.
5. Cook Soba Noodles as instructed. Basically you cook the noodles in rapidly boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. DO NOT add Salt to the water. When cooked, drain and rinse under cold water, then drain well. Noodles should be cold to serve.
6. Place cold Soba noodles on a deep plate, arrange Pork and Salad mixture on top. Serve with the Sauce as a dipping sauce in a small bowl or cup, OR you can pour the sauce over.