Tammy and I had looked forward to visiting Tokyo next month. It would be my first trip to Japan! I would finally meet Maki and Michiko. Maki even got in touch with renowned Japanese cookbook author and baker Iida Junko (饭田顺子). We were going to take a private lesson on bread making at Iida-san’s home in Nakameguro! How cool is that?! And then we would visit Kappabashi, take that scenic train ride in Hakone (箱根町), shop at Genevieve Lethu and Emile Henry, enjoy French sweets in Laduree, Pierre Herme, La Maison du Chocolat, Sadaharu Aoki … and of course, stuff ourselves silly with Japanese food!
We had dreams, people.
Who would’ve expected disaster to strike Japan so suddenly last Friday (March 11th)? I need not describe the magnitude of the devastation. You’ve all seen it for yourselves in the media coverage throughout the week. Like Tammy and I these people had dreams too - and a car and house and more - but everything was washed away in the blink of an eye.
I dedicate this post to my Japanese friends, Maki and Michiko. I’m very relief to know that you and your loved ones are all safe! I would like to convey my well wishes to Ms Iida. My prayers go out to her family.
The inspiration for this soba salad comes from Makiko’s blog. She also writes for Japan Times. I took her advice on how to cook and rinse soba noodles: After the noodles are cooked, you don’t just plunge them into cold water. You have to actively rinse them under running water to get rid of the starch.
I don’t suppose anyone would need any tips from me, the amateur cook, on how to make a salad. Just cook the noodles, rinse and strain them. Once the noodles are cool, add whatever ingredients you might like. My salad has zucchini, seasoned seaweed, and drizzled with a simple lemon-sesame sauce adapted from Makiko’s post.
I was afraid Dad might not appreciate the cold salad so I also made a soba in hot soup. As it turns out, he prefers the cold one with the sesame sauce.
3 comments:
Thanks for dropping by.
You've got a great blog too.
Yeah, very sad when reading news about Japan. :(
Thank you so much for thinking of us! Our office will be open from tomorrow and we are going back to the normal busness operation!
Also, two survivors (80 years old woman and 16 years old boy) were pulled from the wreckage! This is a great news to give us hopes!
Your soba salad looks nice, but where is a mango which you were talking about Mango soba salad?
I hope you will be able to make your dreams come true by visiting Japan in the near future :-)
FUNNY!!!! Your soba looks so good! :) :) Okay I shall write more another day, my bus is arriving in 4 minutes! + elevator waiting time... I should get going now! See you tomorrow!!
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