Thai-Style Soba Noodle Salad

A Thai recipe that blends the texture of soba noodles with the bold flavors of fish sauce, chilies, ginger and jalapenos. Here's a note from fabulousfoods.com: The key to making this salad work is not overcooking the soba. Soba noodles, made from whole grain buckwheat, have a great bite, but if you overcook them they can get unpleasant quickly. To avoid this, cook the soba for 4 minutes and start checking them for doneness every 30 seconds afterwards.

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup fish sauce
• 1⁄2 tablespoon tamarind paste
• 1  tablespoon soy sauce
• 1  teaspoon  chili flakes
•  salt
• 8  ounces  buckwheat  soba noodles
• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1  jalapeno, sliced and seeded
• 2  inches ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 4  tablespoons chicken broth or 4  tablespoons water
• 1⁄2 lb shrimp

Directions

1. Mix the fish sauce, tamarind, soy sauce and chili flakes. This will form the sauce that will give the salad its flavor; allow time to mellow in the open air.
2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the soba noodles; cook for 4 minutes (if not done, continue checking every 30 seconds); when the soba is just al dente, drain and spray with cold water; set in a colander to drain completely.
3. In a skillet with high sides, add the vegetable oil and let it get very hot over medium-high heat; add the jalapeno and sauté for 3 minutes; add the ginger and sauté for 30 seconds; add the broth and continue cooking the ginger and jalapenos until the broth is gone (evaporates).
4. Next, put the shrimp in the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, or until they start to turn pink; pour in the sauce and continue to cook until the shrimp are completely cooked.
5. Toss the noodles in the skillet; stir to coat and serve immediately.