Cold soba on a hot summer day

The temperature has finally started cool down here.

Those days of 90+ heat were tough and even though it was cooler this morning, I wasn't in the mood for anything warm/hot for breakfast.

From the bottom going clockwise: Cold soba noodles, dipping sauce, pickled wakame with sesame seeds, iced green tea and cold cooked chicken.

To start, I put 1 portion (you can see below they are already bundled together in 1 serving size bundles) into a pan of boiling water. I turned down the heat to keep the noodles at a slow simmer.

I let them simmer for 10 minutes. And while the noodles simmered I made the pickled wakame.

I soaked 2 Tbsp. of dried wakame in warm water until it reconstituted.  Then I drained the seaweed well and put it in a bowl with 2 Tbsp. of mirin and 1Tbsp. of rice vinegar and a pinch of salt and set it aside.


I found an interesting way to prepare soba here. I drained and rinsed them according to those directions and plated the noodles.


This is my favorite noodle dipping sauce I have found. 

It is a soup base but I found most dipping sauces too concentrated and salty for my taste so I prefer this. I chopped some green onions to add to the dipping liquid.


At this point, I drained the wakame and squeezed out any excess pickling liquid. A sprinkle of sesame seeds on top finished this side dish.

And some iced green tea - 

I made sure to include a side of protein. 

This was a great breakfast and a wonderful way to start my hump-day. 

Time to go to work!