Magnificent News: Eat Voraciously: Free your mind

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Here's what's for dinner tonight.

By G. Daniela Galarza

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Free your mind

Writing about cooking and recipes is both fun — I'm lucky that I love my job! — and a little terrifying. That's because I always have to balance my enthusiasm for a particular recipe, ingredient or technique with the stark knowledge that I'm writing to a huge and geographically diverse group of food lovers with myriad experiences, preferences and needs.

Along with dietary restrictions, your kitchen equipment varies. And, while we may live in a global society, not every ingredient is available in every town. (I'm looking at you, kosher salt.)

But it's the question of personal experience that has lately been rattling around in my brain as I write. I share my own fairly often, as a way to give recipes context. That's why this recipe, for a soba noodle salad from "Double Awesome Chinese Food: Irresistible and Totally Achievable Recipes From Our Chinese-American Kitchen" by Andrew, Irene and Margaret Li, jumped out at me.

"When I was young, pasta salad fell into two categories: A creamy concoction in which mayonnaise held together elbow macaroni, vegetables and ham; or a vinaigrette-style salad with tri-color fusilli tossed with cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers," recipes editor Ann Maloney wrote. "That was pretty much it — for years.

"As I grew up, I was exposed to so many variations of the noodle or pasta salad — cold and warm — that I began to realize that the only limitation on combinations was my life experience and imagination," Ann realized.

"It was freeing."

I've had the same sort of epiphany too many times to count. If you're a curious eater, maybe you have, too?

Ann realized that any kind of pasta or noodle, tossed with a savory dressing and chewy, crisp or crunchy bits and bobs could be a pasta salad.

In this one, soba noodles get dressed in a tangy mixture punched up with garlic and sesame oil. Ripe tomatoes, raw zucchini, arugula and corn give it textural variety. I especially love the addition of cubes of ripe avocado, creamy and slippery, and the tiny pops of crunch that a sprinkling of black sesame seeds adds.

Today's recipe

Photos by Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post

Summer Noodle Salad With Ginger-Garlic Dressing

Find substitution suggestions and other tips below the recipe.

Make ahead: The salad dressing can be made up to 3 days in advance.

Where to buy: Black (Chinkiang) vinegar, soba noodles and toasted sesame seed oil can be found at Asian markets, well-stocked supermarkets and online.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

To save or print this recipe, view it in our Recipe Finder here.

Servings: 4 to 6
Total time: 35 mins

Ingredients

For the dressing

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon Chinkiang black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, finely minced or grated
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
Fine salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

For the salad

1 pound small summer tomatoes, cut in half or quartered, or cut into eighths if large
1 cup (5 ounces) fresh corn kernels
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Fine salt
8 ounces (225 grams) soba noodles
1 zucchini (about 7 ounces), spiralized or thinly sliced
1 cup (about 1 ounce) arugula or other salad greens
1 avocado, halved, pitted and cut into chunks
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon black or toasted sesame seeds
Sriracha, for serving (optional)

Steps

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.

2. Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, soy sauce, lime or lemon juice, honey, sesame oil, vinegar, ginger, garlic, salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Whisk, and set aside, giving the ginger and garlic time to mellow.

3. Make the salad: On a large, rimmed baking sheet, add half the tomatoes and half the corn and toss with the olive and sesame oils. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until the corn is slightly charred and the tomatoes begin to shrivel.

4. While the vegetables are roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the soba noodles according to the package instructions, about 4 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain and rinse thoroughly under cold running water to stop the cooking. Transfer the noodles to a large serving bowl along with the roasted tomatoes and corn, and add the remaining fresh tomatoes and corn, the zucchini, arugula, avocado and scallion.

5. Pour most of the dressing over the salad and toss, then taste, and add more dressing as desired.

6. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve family-style, with sriracha, if using, on the side.

Adapted from "Double Awesome Chinese Food" by Andrew, Irene and Margaret Li (Roost Books, 2019). Tested by Ann Maloney.

Nutrition information per serving: Calories: 334; Total Fat: 17 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 552 mg; Carbohydrates: 43 g; Dietary Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 7 g; Protein: 9 g.

Substitution suggestions + other tips and ideas:

No soba? >> use any long noodle, and cook it according to the package's instructions. This would also work with all spiralized zucchini noodles.
Can't have garlic? >> Skip it.
Garden tomatoes not yet ripe? >> Orange segments or fresh, ripe mango would be good in the tomatoes' place.
No black sesame seeds? >> Use toasted white sesame seeds or skip them.