cold soba noodle salad

The heat continues and we're all positively fed up in Melbourne with hot days and nights in early Autumn.  The meteorologists are prognosticating these above 30 degree celcius temperatures will continue well into the next week.  Who wants to be standing over a hot stove in these conditions??  Well, my fetish with salads seems very sensible under the circumstances.  This recipe is from goop, an e-newsletter founded by Gwyneth Paltrow which contains information from parenting, to spirituality to healthy eating.  It's lately become a little too consumer-focused for my predilections, but some of the recipes are fabulous.  Like this salad which features soba noodles and coriander.  I altered the original recipe to include enoki mushrooms and roasted pepitas.  Thanks to Gwyneth I have discovered agave nectar, a natural sweet liquid from Mexico, the taste of which I prefer to honey and I'm told has a much lower GI.  But it is a lot more expensive, I hasten to add...  Serves 4

8 oz (226.80 g according to my weight conversion calculator) buckwheat soba noodles
1 tbs Japanese soy sauce
1 tbs agave nectar
1 tbs mirin
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tbs toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup flavourless oil (perhaps corn oil)
2 tbs black sesame seeds (or toasted sesame seeds)
2 tbs toasted pepitas
100g enoki mushrooms
1/4 cup coriander, chopped coarsely
5 spring onions
1 red chilli pepper, chopped finely

Cook the soba in boiling water, according to packet instructions (4 mins usually).  Immediate rinse the soba under cold water and drain thoroughly. Meanwhile whisk all the liquid ingredients in a large salad bowl to make the dressing.  Toss in the cold soba with the dressing and mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Enjoy with a glass of ice cold sake!