Soba Noodles With Tahini And Shrimp
In My Greek Table, Season 4, the Foods that Unite Us episode includes this delicious hybrid recipe for Soba Noodles with Tahini and Shrimp. There is a burgeoning Japanese-Greek culinary scene in Athens, and it’s exciting to see and taste. Pairing this with Greek wine proved to be fun and delicious, too! I chose a Greek white wine, a Roditis-Moschofilero blend from Mantineia in the Peloponnese. Remember: when boiling soba noodles NEVER add salt to the water!
Ingredients
- 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin Greek olive oil
- 1 ½ cups shelled medium size shrimp
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 1/4 cup ouzo
- 4 heaping Tbsp tahini
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ⅔ cup water
- 1½-2 inches ginger peeled and chopped
- 2 dashes of cayenne pepper
- A pinch of ground cumin
- 2-3 Tbsp Greek honey
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 eight-ounce package of soba or udon noodles
- 2 scallions minced
- Chopped parsley for garnish
- Toasted sesame or nigella seeds for garnish
Instructions
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Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and add the shrimp. A minute later, add the garlic. Sauté the shrimp until bright pink, and slowly add the ouzo, careful not to put your face over the pan in case the ouzo flares up! Deglaze the ouzo – cook off the alcohol, in other words.
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In a food processor, combine tahini, honey, lemon juice, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, ginger, and garlic. Puree until smooth and creamy. Slowly add water to the food processor and puree again until you reach desired consistency. The sauce should be dense but liquid, like a thick batter.
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Drain the pan juices from the shrimp and add them to the tahini mixture. Process until smooth.
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Drop soba noodles into boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse soba noodles and combine them with tangy tahini sauce, scallions and some shrimp. Save a few shrimp to garnish the plate.
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Garnish with parsley and toasted sesame or nigella seeds and serve.
