Cold Asian Noodle Salad

Name: Cold Asian Noodle Salad
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp Lucero Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 2 Tbsp Traditional Balsamic Vinegar2; 2 tsp Soy Sauce; 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped; 1 clove fresh garlic, finely chopped; chili flakes to taste; 3.5 oz soba noodles, boiled per package directions and rinsed with water; ½ cucumber, skinned, seeded, and thinly sliced; ½ red bell pepper, diced into ¼ inch pieces; 1 scallion, thinly sliced on the diagonal; Roasted sesame seeds for garnish; Freshly chopped cilantro for garnish

There are so many variations of traditional and non-traditional Asian noodle salads. This one is very simple, and could be classified as Japanese-California fusion because we used three Japanese specialty ingredients--soba (buckwheat noodles), shoyu (soy sauce), and shiro goma (sesame seeds)--along with our California olive oil and popular traditional balsamic vinegar.

Although we specified Arbequina for this recipe, Ascolano and Picual would be equally suitable. If you have Coratina on hand the balance will shift a bit to the greener/bitter side.

BONUS RECIPE VARIATION! Make sure to read this brief explanation of our beefy post script via this link.