Chilled Sesame Noodles with Balsamic Mushrooms, Lime Slaw and Toasted Furikake Seeds with Sesa-Miso Dressing

To make the toasted furikake seeds, preheat the oven to 200˚C/180˚C fan and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Weigh your ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix until the seeds are fully coated and the ingredients are evenly distributed. Pour the mixture onto the lined tray and bake for 4 minutes. Stir and return to the oven for a further 4 minutes. Check the seeds – if the skins of the pumpkin seeds are splitting and the sunflower seeds are turning golden, they are ready to go. If not, return to the oven for a further 2 minutes until toasted.

Allow to cool, then pour into a glass jar and store somewhere cool and dry for up to 3 weeks (or until you run out!).

To make the dressing, place your sesame seeds into a dry pan and place over a medium heat, swirling the pan constantly, until they are nice and toasted – about 3–4 minutes. Set aside.

Peel your ginger using the edge of a teaspoon and grate into a blender. Add the remaining ingredients, excluding your toasted sesame seeds, and blitz until smooth. You can also just pop all your ingredients into a jar and give it a good shake if you don’t mind a bit of texture from the ginger.

Finish by stirring through your toasted sesame seeds and adjusting the texture with a little extra water, if needed – but I’d recommend keeping this dressing on the thicker side, in case you want to use it as a noodle sauce. Store in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Increase the oven temperature to 220˚C/200˚C fan and boil the kettle.

Place the udon noodles into a heat-proof bowl, then cover with boiling water. Let the noodles sit for 2 minutes, then use tongs to agitate them into individual strands. Drain off the hot water and either place the noodles in a bowl of iced water, or rinse with cold water to cool.

Place the vinegar, tamari or soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds into a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Rinse any dirt off the mushrooms, then tear or chop the largest ones in half. Keep any smaller ones whole, and remember they will shrink in the oven, so, if in doubt, leave them whole. Add the mushrooms to the bowl of marinade and use your hands to mix them well in order to coat, ensuring the sesame seeds are evenly distributed. Transfer to a parchment-lined roasting tray and place in the oven for 18 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, thinly slice your red cabbage using a sharp knife, a mandolin or a vegetable peeler. Place into a bowl and dress with the juice of half the lime and the pinch of sea salt. Mix well with your hands until the cabbage is well coated and starting to soften.

Add 6 tablespoons of Sesa-Miso Dressing to the cooked and cooled udon noodles and pour onto your serving dish. Add the limey cabbage slaw, kimchi and cooked mushrooms, making sure you include all the juices and sesame seeds left on the tray after cooking. Add Sesa-Miso Dressing and the juice of the other half of the lime. Top with the Toasted Furikake Seeds and a small handful of coriander leaves.

TIP: Add a jammy egg to boost the protein of this bowl. Prepare a bowl of iced water. Boil some salted water and carefully drop in 1–2 eggs. Leave to cook for 6.5 minutes before moving to the iced water to cool completely. Peel, halve and lay on top of your mushrooms.