Chilled Soba in Dashi With Tomatoes and Corn

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Use a box grater to roughly grate the tomatoes. Transfer the grated tomatoes to a sieve set over a bowl to collect the liquid; reserve the skins. Once most of the liquid has drained out of the grated tomatoes, transfer the pulp to a small bowl and set aside.

2. Step 2

   Prepare the dashi: Place the reserved tomato skins, drained tomato liquid, corn cobs, mushrooms, cilantro leaves and scallion trimmings in a medium saucepan with 4 cups of water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes until the mushrooms have rehydrated and the dashi is fragrant. Transfer to a metal bowl and place in the fridge to cool.

3. Step 3

   Mix the corn kernels with 1 tablespoon of oil and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Place a grill pan or cast-iron skillet over high heat, and once hot, add the corn. Stir constantly, as the corn will pop otherwise, until charred and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to the pan, stirring to evenly coat the corn. Transfer the corn back into the bowl and mix through the vinegar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and the remaining tablespoon of oil. Set aside until cool (about 30 minutes), then mix through the reserved cilantro stems, chile and scallions.

4. Step 4

   Once the dashi is cold, strain, discarding all the solids apart from the mushrooms. Thinly slice the mushrooms and set aside. Measure 2 ½ cups of the dashi, topping up with water or discarding any excess if necessary. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and the remaining ½ teaspoon of soy sauce. Set aside.

5. Step 5

   Bring a pan of water up to the boil and cook the noodles as per the packet instructions. Once cooked, strain under cold water until completely cool then divide among four bowls.

6. Step 6

   Season the reserved tomato pulp with the miso and ⅛ teaspoon of salt.

7. Step 7

   To serve, pour the dashi over the noodles, around ⅔ cup per bowl, and scatter the corn, tomato and shiitakes on top. Serve cold or at room temperature.