Make Ahead

Kimchi, Shrimp, and Soba Noodles Salad

April 10, 2016
3.5
2 Ratings
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

We've been taught to use our pickle brine to marinade meat, so kimchi counts, too. Here, it works its magic on shrimp, puncturing it with flavor and then serving as the dressing for a noodle salad. —Ali Slagle

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Ingredients
  • one 16-ounce jar kimchi (or homemade equivalent)
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil, plus more for coating noodles
  • 6 ounces soba noodles
  • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
  • Sesame seeds, to garnish
Directions
  1. In a large pot, bring a lot of generously salted water to a boil.
  2. Meanwhile, strain the kimchi brine into a large bowl, add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil. Taste and adjust to your tastes. Then roughly chop the kimchi and stir it into the marinade.
  3. Once the water is boiling, add the shrimp and cook until just pink, about 1 to 2 minutes, depending on the size of shrimp. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon and immediately place into the marinade. Cover, and let sit at room temperature for a half an hour, then transfer to the fridge while you finish prepping the rest of the salad. (The shrimp will keep in the fridge for 2 days.)
  4. Bring the water back to a boil and cook the soba noodles according to package instructions. When they’re done, drain them, coat them with sesame oil to prevent sticking, and let cool.
  5. Add the soba and cabbage to the shrimp and toss to combine. Taste and adjust accordingly. Garnish with sesame seeds.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

4 Reviews

rbnyc August 9, 2016
Made this for dinner last night. Quite good. And easy to boot. Only change I made is that the supermarket had already cooked shrimp on sale. Marinating the pre-cooked shrimp worked great and saved some effort. Served this with a side of swiss chard finished with a chili-black bean paste. Nice dinner and plenty of leftovers!
suzanne July 16, 2016
I didn't see radishes in the ingredients list - spotted them in #5 of the directions. Please correct.
Ali S. July 16, 2016
Thank you for catching! I cut the radishes from the recipe to simplify. The recipe's now updated.
Chef R. January 24, 2021
The "crunch" factor of some Daikon or Watermelon Radish would add a nice element to this. I will pickle some daikon and add to this. Thanks for the recipe idea!!