This was printed in Vogue Entertaining and Travel, Feb/March 2005, and has already become a staple in my household. Sometimes I leave out the prawns, and add sliced shiitake mushrooms on the top. You can also add grated or finely julienned carrot to the cucumber strips as they sit in their marinade for colour and taste.

A picture & review of the recipe

Dressing
2 tbs mirin
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp caster sugar

Soba & Prawns
12 medium green prawns, unpeeled
½ medium cucumber, peeled
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp mirin
½ tsp salt
250g soba noodles
2 spring onions, green part only
½ sheet toasted nori

Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves, then cover and refrigerate.

To clean the prawns, insert a fine bamboo skewer through the back of each shell near the tail and hook out the intestinal tract. Cook in simmering, salted water for 3 minutes, drain and leave to cool.

Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and, with a teaspoon, scoop out and discard the seeds. Finely slice lengthwise, then into matchstick strips. Toss the cucumber with the rice vinegar, mirin and salt and leave for 30 minutes.

Add the noodles to a large pot of boiling water. Bring the water back to the boil, then add a cup of cold water. Repeat this process at least twice more until the noodles are cooked. Drain and plunge them into iced water. Drain again and refrigerate. Finely cut the spring onion greens into 4cm lengths, then again into fine strips. Cut the nori into very fine filaments, about 8cm long, using scissors.To serve, toss the noodles in the dressing, drain and pile onto four serving plates. Toss the spring onion with the cucumber, drain and scatter over the noodles. Peel the prawns and arrange on top with a thatch of nori strips.

Serves 4 as an entree