• Yield: Serves 4 as a light lunch


There are great sweet and sour flavors going on in this dish. Don’t be nervous about pickling your own cucumber -- it’s a cinch, and once you try it, you’ll be hooked. This is a superb summery lunch recipe that tastes great both hot or cold. Nori flakes are available from selected health food stores and Asian food stores.

What Katie Ate on the Weekend What Katie Ate on the Weekend
  • 1 pound 12 ounces uncooked shrimp, heads removed but tails left intact, deveined

  • 6 1/2 oz soba noodles

  • 2 long red chiles, seeded and sliced

  • cilantro, to garnish

  • tamari or light soy sauce, to serve

Soy and ginger marinade

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons tamari or light soy sauce

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar

  • 4 teaspoons mirin

  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce

  • 1 teaspoon superfine sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon firmly packed finely grated ginger

Pickled cucumber

  • 4 teaspoons superfine sugar

  • 4 teaspoons black sesame seeds

  • 1 teaspoon nori seaweed flakes 

  • 1 large cucumber, cut into 1/2 in cubes

  • good pinch of sea salt

For the marinade, whisk all the ingredients together in a large shallow glass dish. Add the shrimp and toss to coat, then cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, for the pickle, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Taste and add more salt or sugar if desired, then set aside.

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. When hot, add the shrimp and the marinade and cook for 2 minutes, turning halfway through, until the shrimp are cooked and the sauce has reduced. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.

Cook the noodles in a saucepan of simmering water for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse well under cold running water.

Place the noodles, shrimp, pickled cucumber and chile in a bowl and toss to combine. Turn out onto a platter, then drizzle with tamari or soy sauce to taste and garnish with cilantro.


Reprinted from What Katie Ate on the Weekend by arrangement with Viking Studio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright (C) 2015, Katie Quinn Davies.