During these hot and humid days, I want nothing more than something chilled, whether it be a quick tossed salad or more likely, cold soba noodles. Traditionally, soba noodles are served cold with an umami-packed dipping sauce, and they are perfect for summery days. The dish is simple, refreshing, and my choice meal during the summer. The dipping sauce can be a mentsuyu sauce, made from seaweed and bonito, and it works because of its intense umami flavor. Chilled it has so much flavor that soba noodles need simply be dipped and slurped up. I decided to make another dipping sauce with more body, something that can actually be served as a chilled soup as well.
Last year, I experimented with a chilled watermelon, tomato, and mentsuyu sauce salad. I’ve been obsessed with combining sweet and savory, especially with distinctive flavors such as miso or seaweed, and the resulting salad was quite delicious. I decided to blend watermelon with tomato, sort of similar to a gazpacho, and added just a touch of miso for that savory kick. The result was an amazingly rich but light soup with a dance of flavors. Sprinkle with some scallions on top, and this can be served by itself as a chilled soup, or as a dipping soup for soba. Chilled soba noodles dipped in this sauce / soup with fresh scallions is a meal that I’ve now made more than once, especially to combat the humidity and heat typical of Bostonian summers.
The quality of the watermelon and tomatoes is very important for this dish. For this, I always try to find the sweetest watermelons and the most flavorful tomatoes, as bland tomatoes will not lend any of its innate flavor to the final dish!
- 1 1/2 pounds seedless watermelon chunks
- 1 pound tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon white miso
- fresh scallions
- soba noodles cooked and chilled
- Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. Place in ice bath and slip off skins. Remove cores and coarsely chop tomatoes, reserving any juice.
- Blend watermelon with tomatoes, vinegar, mirin, soy sauce and puree until smooth. Add water if iced. Strain through fine-mesh sieve and repeat if necessary. Chill in fridge
- Serve with chilled soba noodles and fresh scallions on the side.
A wedding photographer based in Boston, Betty combined her love of food photography and experimenting in the kitchen to share visually-focused recipe stories over at le jus d’orange. She loves to re-create and share her mother’s traditional Chinese recipes, bringing a bit of authentic Shanghai cuisine to readers’ virtual feasts. Her recipes are often flavored with Asian touches, as Betty loves to incorporate the ingredients she grew up with into desserts and other dishes to create new flavor profiles.
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