Salmon with Soba Noodles and Mirin Dressing

Occasionally Matt abandons me on a Friday evening, and takes off around the coast to get a quick dive in before the weekend even begins.

This was one such night.

So I made myself an awesome dinner for one. And I didn't miss him at all!

Still, it was nice when he came home.

This is an adapted recipe from Donna Hay.

It's deliciously simple, and lets the salmon speak for itself. It's heightened with the nuttiness of soba noodles, fresh coriander, and a little ginger and lime to lift it. The base of the sauce is a combination of mirin (classicly Japanese), soy sauce for depth of flavour, and I added sesame oil, just because I love it so much.

The original recipe called for pickled ginger. This would be amazing. Unfortunately, I didn't have any, so I just used fresh ginger. Not the same effect, but tasty nonetheless.

Salmon with Soba Noodles and Mirin Dressing (for one, but you can easily adapt for more)

100g bundle of dried soba noodles
100g fillet of salmon, skin off
Vegetable oil for brushing
Salt and pepper
2T coriander (more if you love it)

For the mirin dressing
1t toasted sesame seeds
1t ginger, grated
1t soy sauce
1t lime juice
1T mirin
1/2t sesame oil

Make sure the salmon is at room temperature before you start. It will fry up nicer this way.

Bring a pot of water to the boil.

To make the dressing, combine the ginger, soy sauce, lime juice, mirin, and sesame oil in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Don't add the sesame seeds just yet, or they'll go a bit soggy.

Get a pan onto a medium high heat.

Brush the salmon with vegetable oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the salmon in the pan, and cook for 2 minutes each side, until just rare in the middle, but caramelised and gorgeous on the outside.

While the salmon is cooking, pop the noodles into the boiling water, and cook for 3-5 minutes. As soon as the salmon is done, bring it out of the pan and let rest while the noodles finish off.

Drain the noodles, and put in your serving bowl. Drizzle over the dressing, place the salmon on top, and finish with coriander and the toasted sesame seeds.

Serve with extra sauce and coriander.