Our good friend Kathleen Bauer shared this delicious and easy peasy recipe on her blog Good Stuff NW, the place for valuable news on what's happening in food politics in our region. We love her reporting, but also the bulletins from farmer Anthony Boutard, her recipes, and so much more about that treasure trove of a site. Check it out! Here is Kathleen's post:
“It looks like summer’s heating up, which means the oven is getting a break and the stove is only turned on for a few minutes at a time, if at all. We’d just come back from a blessed few days off the grid camping on Mt. Hood and hadn’t yet made a trip to the store, so I was rummaging through the leftovers from our cooler and peeking behind tubs in the fridge for something to make for dinner.
Fortunately our son, who was cat-sitting while we were gone, hadn’t devoured all of the goodies I left in the fridge, so there was a box of fresh ramen noodles—my new favorites are Lola Milholland’s Umi Organic—and a half jar of Choi’s Kimchi. Adding a leftover Persian cucumber that still had plenty of crunch remaining, plus a delightful dressing using miso, again from a local producer, Jorinji Miso, and in about 20 minutes, dinner was in the bag. Or the bowl, as the case may be.”
For the dressing
1/3 cup canola or peanut oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon garlic
2 teaspoons tamari
2 tablespoons white miso
1 teaspoon gochugaru (optional)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
For the salad
1 package (12 ounces) Umi Organic ramen noodles
1/2 cup kimchi, chopped
1 Persian cucumber (can substitute 1/2 cup chopped English cucumber)
1 tablespoon chopped chives for garnish
Directions
Bring a pot of water to rolling boil.
While the water is heating, make the dressing by placing all ingredients in a blender and blend at high speed until well puréed.
When the water comes to a boil, gently pull apart ramen noodles. Add them to the water. Tease the strands apart with chopsticks while the water returns to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for two minutes, stirring occasionally to keep noodles from clumping. When they're done, drain them in a colander and rinse in cold water to stop them from cooking further.
Chop kimchi into bite-sized pieces. Quarter the cucumber and slice crosswise into 1/8” slices. Place noodles, kimchi, cucumber and dressing in serving bowl and combine. Garnish with chives.
Photo by Shawn Linehan.
