Fewer catfish, more ginger. A lot more ginger.

Perhaps the most important thing about what became a lovely meal for HungryTexan and her BoyFromBoston is the ingredients for this meal were procured purely from her pantry. This is no small feat for the girl who’s been trained from birth that every meal requires at least one, if not one-to-three trips to the grocery.

Now, these noodles required some improvisation—I used whole wheat noodles instead of soba, sunflower seeds instead of sesame, jarred instead of fresh ginger, plus I added some green beans for a little substance sans tofu. Substitutions in all—this ginger dressing made the perfect Monday meal (and Wednesday leftovers!). BoyFromBoston was trés impressed as was OneSockWonder (“ging-her? hardly even knew her!”).

Inspired by the much more aesthetically pleasing 101Cookbooks, behold a ginger dressing these HungryTexans are going to want to remember.

1 tablespoon freshly grated fresh ginger (I used jarred, pickled ginger)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g chopped white onion (I used a red onion)
1 teaspoon mirin (skipped it!)
2 teaspoons brown sugar or honey (I used honey!)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 celery stalk, strings removed, then chopped
1/3 cup / 80 sunflower oil or untoasted sesame oil