One of the best summertime Japanese traditions is to eat cold noodles. With the sauce already available in a bottle, this meal can be put together in under 15 minutes. Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and have a wonderful, slightly gritty texture. They cook in under five minutes and are eaten simply with dehydrated wakame seaweed, kamaboko fish cake, green onions and a store-bought sauce. If you cannot find soba sauce, somen noodle sauce is a good substitute. Many people like the spicy kick from wasabi and use this condiment to add taste. Garnish with any ingredients you have at home. This is a satisfying and easy meal for lunch or dinner.

Cold Soba Noodles

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch (about 1 3/4 ounce) dried soba noodles

• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried wakame seaweed

• 1/4 cup soba sauce, prepared to bottle directions, substitute somen sauce

• 1 tablespoon chopped green onions, or to taste Optional: 3 slices kamaboko (fish cake)

• Optional: wasabi paste

• Other optional toppings: nori slivers (kizami nori), takuan slivers, shiso leaves

Directions:

Boil about 4 cups of water in a pot and add one bunch soba noodles and cook until tender, but still firm, about 4 minutes. Drain into a colander and cool in water or iced water. Soak wakame seaweed in about 1/2 cup water for 5 minutes to rehydrate. Drain. Place noodles in a bowl. Prepare soba sauce according to directions (some brands are diluted with water). Top noodles with rehydrated seaweed, kamaboko, if using, and chopped green onions and other toppings. Pour sauce over noodles. Serve cold or at room temperature with wasabi paste.

Serves 1.

Lynette Lo Tom is the author of A Chinese Kitchen, Back in the Day and Yum Yum Cha: Let’s Eat Dim Sum in Hawaii. Send her your easy recipes to lynette@ brightlightcookery.com