Heatwave Dinner Party (Cold Noods Again)

Something to go cook so you're not sweating over a hot stove in 27º heat

The fact that we are referring to 27º as a heatwave really sums up the lack of summer we’ve had, but I won’t complain. The sun is welcome and soon there will be much less of it, but it’s not conducive to major oven cooking or slow-cooked sauces bubbling on a stove. I had friends over on Monday night – the first time we’d seen Jord and Sash since their wedding celebrations – and knowing that it was a Monday evening and insufferably hot, I could only think of one dinner solution: cold noods. This is nothing new. If you’ve read this newsletter before, you’ll have seen variations of these dishes in previous editions. Forgive me: I am a creature of habit, a broken record. I can’t help only really cooking seven dishes, one of them being different versions of noodles steeped in salt, spice and citrus. This one is admittedly a little different – peanut butter entering the sauce chat, with the addition of miso-lime dressed greens and chilli crunch covered cucumbers.

This is the last recipes-not-recipes newsletter of the year that will go out to all subscribers - if you’d like to read more of these and not just the essays (which will be returning!), you can become a paid subscriber!

This served 5 people (and we all had seconds)

Smacked Cukes:

Bash two whole cucumbers with the back of a heavy spoon or rolling pin, roughly chop then add to a bowl with a few tsp of salt (the fine table salt kind - ideally kosher!). Leave it for about 10 minutes (or longer if you can) because you want the salt to draw out a lot of water. Once you’ve prepped everything else, pour out the excess water than add two finely chopped garlic cloves, around 1 tbsp of Chinkiang black rice vinegar, a heavy pour of your preferred chilli oil (usually the oily part of this Sunwah one for me). Season to taste and throw on some sesame seeds at the last minute. You can keep it in the fridge whilst you prep everything else to let the flavours really steep - the longer the better!

Lime & Miso Greens

Quickly boil one packet of tenderstem broccoli and one packet of green beans for about 2-3 minutes, take out (leave the water for your noods) and set aside. In a jar mix one grated garlic clove, 1 tsp miso paste, the juice of one lime, equal parts olive oil, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp of honey and a pinch of chilli flakes - pop the lid on and shake vigorously. Leave it so the miso and honey really dissolve and season to taste when you’re ready to serve. When ready, pour it over your cooled-down greens and sprinkle with some sesame seeds.

Spicy Cold Noods

In a bowl mix about 1.5 tbsp gochujang, 1.5 tbsp smooth peanut butter, around 2-3 tbsp soy sauce (start with 2 and see how it tastes), 2 tbsp sesame oil, the juice of half a lime, 1 grated garlic clove, about a thumb of grated ginger then whisk. Taste and add more or less of what you like. Cook 1 450g packet of noodles (I used these ones from Longdan - they’re typical Korean rice flour noodles and come in a 450g/1lb packet - but you could use soba etc) until soft, drain, rinse thoroughly then add to a large serving dish. Pour the sauce over and mix with your hands so every strand is coated. Taste and add what feels right - it might be more soy, more sesame, more lime. Add chopped spring onions (I used three) and top with sesame seeds and soy marinated eggs (one per person).