Soba Salad

Salad ingredients:

1/2 c hijiki

3 tbsp oil

3 tbsp shoyu

3 tbsp sugar

1/4 oz dry wakame (this will seem like just a little)

1 bunch watercress, trimmed and cut into 1" lengths

4 oz kaiware, root ends cut off

1 roll uzumaki, slivered

2 tbsp red shredded pickled ginger

16 oz dried soba noodles

Dressing:

3/4 c vegetable oil

3/4 c shoyu

3/4 c lemon juice

5 tbsp sugar

Soak hijiki in a bowl of warm water for 20 minutes. While hijiki is soaking, combine dressing ingredients in a jar. Shake well and set aside. Drain water from hijiki, and press out as much water as possible without mashing hijiki. In a small skillet, heat 3 tbsp oil. Add hijiki, 3 tbsp shoyu, and 3 tbsp sugar. Cook until liquid is absorbed. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl, soak wakame in a bowl of cold water for 7 minutes. Drain, pressing out as much water as possible. Set aside. Boil soba noodles for 6-7 minutes. Rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well. In a 9 x 13" pan or other comparable flat dish, arrange soba in an even layer. Top with hijiki, kaiware, watercress, wakame, uzumaki, and pickled ginger. Pour dressing over entire salad just before serving.

As an alternative, served dressing alongside salad, allowing guests to dress their salads individually. If doing this, make 1 1/2 or 2 quantities of dressing.