Spice-Crusted Salmon & Soba Noodle Salad

A big bowl of noodles is one of the best things to eat ever. Seriously.

Pho, ramen...braised beef shank & noodle soup...duck wonton & noodle soup...The list can go on and on and on. Just imagine a steaming hot mountain of noodles after a long day at work, crowding a table with your friends at your favorite Asian joint, or settling into the couch with a bowl in one hand and the TV remote in the other.

But a noodle's purpose is far more complex than just "add to soups". For example, how about soba noodles with a creamy miso dressing and tangy pickled vegetables? And, how about...a spice-crusted salmon filet to top it all off?

Today's recipe is exactly that, an incredibly satisfying noodle dish that balances different textures and a bold mixture of flavors: Spice-Crusted Salmon & Soba Noodle Salad!

Birthday Weekend Pt. 1: Pacific Catch on Chestnut St.

My parents wanted to take me out for my birthday, so they planned on spending the whole day with me in the city. When I was picking out a place for lunch, I remembered a friend of mine who recommended Pacific Catch on Chestnut St. She had mentioned it when I was talking about my trip to Oahu and thought that I would like their Ahi Poke Bowls.

Yup. She had me at "poke".

I told my dad about the restaurant, and...I had him at "poke", too. (The photos feature on Yelp can be such a wonderful thing.)

Pacific Catch, "Fresh Fish Grill", has 4 locations in the Bay Area. Since the original location is on Chestnut St., we thought it was best to go where it all started. The menu includes fresh salads, fish & chips style baskets, island tacos, and "pan-asian" rice bowls. While it didn't have the specialty cocktails and sushi rolls like the other locations, everything this place has to offer is fresh, bright, and mouthwatering-good. In addition to my parents, I brought my nephew Jon and invited my aunt, uncle, and cousin to join us. San Francisco had more blue-sky weather that Saturday, so it turned out to be a fun, relaxing afternoon with family.   

Oahu: From Fruits to Fishes

Green and pink anthurium flowers peeking out from buckets of water. The sweet smell of strawberry papayas. Jars of homemade jam with handwritten labels.

I love strolling through the farmers' market to see what little treasures I can find, and doing this in an exciting, foreign locale never fails to be an eye-opener. I always tell friends that want to visit the Hawaiian islands, "Go to the local market!" Checking out the local markets is a unique and mostly inexpensive way to get to know the area. You can meet anyone, from the very farmers who harvest the crop to business owners selling their homemade goods, from the neighborhood residents to fellow travelers.

So, for the finale of my Oahu posts, I want to shine a light on a couple of marketplaces on the island. I've mentioned all of the "home"-cooking that my mom did for this trip, and now I can finally tell you about where we found our ingredients. We would've loved to go to Oahu's bigger farmers' markets, but our schedule just never matched up with the days that they were held. (For information on markets sponsored by the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, click here. For the county-run People's Open Markets, click here.) Nevertheless, we found a couple of places that are open all week long and are just as interesting to stroll through.