Harusame Salad with Summer Vegetables by Meg and Zenta Tanaka

The two founders of Australian restaurant CIBI propose a recipe to make a delicious Japanese-inspired salad.

14.09.2020

WordsClémence Leleu

‘CIBI’ by Meg and Zenta Tanaka ©Mark Roper

Meg and Zenta Tanaka, who run the Australian restaurant CIBI, share, in their recipe book of the same name, the recipe for a harusame – Japanese noodles – salad with summer vegetables, edamame, and black mushrooms. 

CIBI is a recipe book that’s broken down into seasons; eating locally and fresh is the philosophy of these two Japanese chefs now settled in Australia. The dishes are simple, Japanese-inspired, and to be shared with family and friends. 

‘At CIBI, our cuisine is a direct expression of the Japanese culinary culture I grew up with. Starting with quality rice as a base, we bring together a variety of ingredients, fresh vegetables, fish, and meat with seaweed and beans to create simple, well-thought-out and balanced dishes,’ Meg explains. 

The book contains 80 recipes, interspersed with several pages that showcase the culture of Japanese design, or moments in the everyday life of the pair in Australia, Tokyo, or even Okayama, Meg’s birthplace.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

100 g harusame noodles (vermicelli)

1 tomato, cut into 5–6 cm slices

½ medium carrot, cut diagonally and cut into thin slices

½ cucumber, cut diagonally and cut into thin slices

¼ red pepper, cut into thin slices

4 dried kikurage (black mushrooms), rehydrated in warm water and cut into thin slices

50 g edamame, shelled and boiled

1 piece fresh ginger, 2–3 cm wide, cut into thin slices

120 ml soy vinaigrette

Coriander leaves, to garnish

Toasted white sesame seeds, freshly ground, to garnish

Method

In a large bowl of hot water, soak the harusame noodles until tender and transparent. This step is important, because tender noodles have a nicer taste and absorb the vinaigrette. Drain well.

In a large bowl, combine the harusame noodles, tomato, carrot, cucumber, red pepper, kikurage, edamame, and ginger.

Add the soy vinaigrette and mix well.

Serve the salad on plates. Garnish with coriander and ground sesame seeds.

 

CIBI (2018), written by Meg and Zenta Tanaka and published by Hardie Grant.