Isn’t this so cute? The way the shrimp are snuggling on the bed of noodles and holding the asparagus like a beloved teddy bear? Then I ate them. Tragic.
In executing this recipe I learned a new technique: oil poaching.
Which is nothing more exotic or complicated than baking something immersed in oil and tightly covered. It’s an especially nice option for shrimp which have the annoying habit of going from raw to over-cooked (and dry and chewy) very, very quickly. Mine did take longer than the 15 minutes called for in the recipe (maybe an extra 10). After you’ve poached your shrimp you use the shrimp-infused olive oil for the vinaigrette.
If you haven’t tried soba noodles yet do yourself a favor and get some. I found mine at Mariano’s (Roundy’s) but I’ve seen them a other regular grocery stores that have a decent Asian aisle. Whole Foods should have them too. I’m kind of obsessed with them right now. I think it’s the nuttiness. Suits my current mood. I’m similarly a sucker for any kind of cold Asian noodle dish with sesame seeds and sesame oil so this was a highly satisfying meal for me.
The recipe is on Stephanie’s site (where, for some reason it’s called Olive Oil-Poached Shrimp and Soba Salad). One important difference in the online recipe: in the book Step 1 tells you to get your shrimp marinating and that’s important because it takes an hour. So yeah. Do that.
The recipe is also on page 124 of Girl in the Kitchen.
