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Hot days call for cool dinners, and these are Japan’s nutty, salty and sweet solution. Fiery or pickled accompaniments optional
Although every culture craves something different in hot weather – chilled beetroot soup in Lithuania, cooling buttermilk drinks in India, gazpacho in Spain – what many of these dishes have in common is a certain soothing silkiness as they slide down the throat, plus a decent helping of salt. Japan’s zaru soba, which Namiko Hirasawa Chen of Just One Cookbook describes as her family’s “go-to meal when the summer heat and humidity soar”, is no exception. Cold, slippery noodles paired with a savoury dipping sauce, it’s a simple, satisfying dish that’s ready in 15 minutes, and can be accessorised with crunchy salads, sweet seafood or creamy tofu sides for something more substantial. Traditionally served on a bamboo mat, or zaru, to allow the noodles to drain, you can get away without one at home (though lose the seaweed and you can call it mori soba instead), this is definitely one to stick in your summer repertoire alongside the chilled soups, watermelon salads and cucumber sandwiches.