Soba noodles with shredded vegetables and ginger-shallot sauce

Source: Community: Salad Recipes from Arthur Street Kitchen

Soba noodles are a great ingredient to keep in your pantry for those, ''I don't know what to eat'' days. Here, I've teamed soba noodles with my childhood food fantasy - ginger-shallot sauce. Conveniently, this ginger-shallot recipe makes about one litre - keep leftovers in the fridge to enjoy over plain rice, omelette or even Hainanese chicken rice! Eat this salad chilled, if you prefer.

sea salt and black pepper

500g soba noodles

500g purple (or white) cabbage

5 carrots (500g), peeled

½ cup Chinese shallots, finely sliced

½ cup sesame seeds, toasted

GINGER-SHALLOT SAUCE

150g ginger, peeled

150g Chinese shallots, finely sliced

2 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 cup rice bran oil (or other neutral oil, such as grapeseed)

1. To make the dressing, first mince the ginger. If you prefer the ginger very fine, simply run the root over a microplane. If you prefer the ginger slightly chunkier (which is how I've always eaten it), chop it with a knife.

2. Combine the ginger, shallots, salt, vinegar and soy in a bowl. Heat the oil over medium heat until it starts to boil, then take it off the heat immediately and add it to the ginger-shallot mix, taking care not to burn yourself, as the oil will spit when it makes contact with the mix. Allow to cool.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add the soba noodles and cook for four to five minutes or until just tender. Drain and refresh under cold water.

4. Using a mandolin, food processor or knife, shred the cabbage finely and grate the carrot into long strips. Add the vegetables and shallots to the soba noodles and pour over one cup (or more) of ginger-shallot sauce. Toss well to combine. Transfer the salad to a large platter, season well and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.

Serves 4-6