Soba noodle salad with charred eggplant, mango and fresh herbs

Bring 2 quarts of lightly salted water to boil. While waiting:
Dice eggplant into ½-inch pieces by slicing in half lengthwise and then chopping into cubes.
Rinse cucumber and peel. Cut in half and slice into ¼-inch half moons.
Rinse onion, cut off root end and thinly slice.
Rinse basil, cilantro and mint, then roughly chop together.
Rinse serrano chile, then deseed and mince.
Crumble cheese.

In a large bowl, combine serrano with rice vinaigrette, juice from half the lime and ½ pinch of salt. Toss in cucumber, onion, mango and cheese and set aside.

Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil on medium in a medium sauté pan until shimmering. Toss in eggplant with a couple pinches of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant softens and starts to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Move on to next steps while that’s cooking.

Place noodles into boiling water and cook until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain noodles from cooking water and rinse under cold water.

Toss noodles and eggplant with the rest of the salad and chopped herbs. Mix well to combine and season with salt to taste. Divide evenly between two shallow bowls, garnish with fried garlic and serve with extra lime.

On how to slice and dice that onion (or shallot).
How to deseed chile peppers.