Soba Noodle Salad With Sesame Ginger Soy Vinaigrette Food

SOBA NOODLE SALAD

Steps:

• Boil water and cook buckwheat noodles according to package directions. (Bring water to boil, do not add salt and cook for 5-7 minutes. Noodles should not be al dente but also not mushy.
• Have a bowl of cold water ready and rinse cooked buckwheat noodles well so all the sticky stuff is gone. Drain.
• Wash greens. Drain. Unless you are using baby greens, cut your greens into strips.
• You can use whatever combination - just try to have some leaves with firm texture like kale and radicchio. And greens like Perilla or Ssukkat which will add another great dimension of minty flavor.
• Make dressing: mix soy sauce, vinegar and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add sesame oil and wasabi and mix again. Add sesame seeds. If you find sesame oil fragrance too strong, you can use 1 tsp sesame oil and 2 tsp vegetable oil instead.
• When you are ready to eat, assemble the noodles and greens together in a bowl. DO NOT pour all the dressing. I use about 2 Tbs + 1 tsp dressing for 1 bundle of dry noodles. Generally, I use about 4 tsp dressing per 1 cup of cooked soba noodles. Add dressing, toss and Serve. Noodles will absorb the dressing so don't mix too much ahead of time.

SOBA NOODLE SALAD WITH SESAME GINGER SOY VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add soba noodles. Cook according to package instructions adding the green beans 2 minutes before the end of cooking time.
• Drain noodles and green beans in a strainer and rinse with cold water to stop cooking process. (This keeps the beans bright green.)
• In the bottom of a medium bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette: lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, sesame oil, and sambal oelek (chili paste).
• Add the soba noodles and green beans to the bowl with the vinaigrette along with the grated carrot, scallions, and black roasted sesame seeds.
• Toss well to coat and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

VEGETABLE NOODLE SALAD WITH SESAME VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil, and season generously with salt.
• In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, ginger and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and mix well.
• Once the water boils, cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup pasta cooking water, then drain. Transfer pasta to a large bowl. Add half the dressing and 1/4 cup pasta water, season with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat.
• Meanwhile, in a large deep-sided saucepan, heat safflower oil over medium. Add onion and bell peppers, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until deep golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Add snap peas and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, 1/4 cup pasta water and the remaining dressing. Stir to deglaze the pan and lift the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, then add vegetable mixture (with sauce) and scallions to pasta and toss until well combined (add more pasta water if thinner sauce is desired). Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds, if using.

SOBA SALAD WITH SOY-WASABI VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Mince garlic; let stand 10 minutes. Cook the noodles according to package directions omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse noodles under cold water; drain well.
• Steam edamame, peas, and carrots for 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and plunge vegetables into ice water; drain.
• Combine garlic, rice vinegar, soy sauce, oil and wasabi in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add noodles, vegetable mixture and radishes; toss gently to coat. Serve immeditely.

SOBA SALAD WITH MISO DRESSING

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Drop in the noodles and carrot and cook until tender, 2 to 4 minutes; add the edamame for about 30 seconds to 1 minute just to warm, then drain everything in a colander. Set aside.
• In a large salad bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, miso and mirin or sugar. Add spinach, noodles, carrot, edamame, scallion and toss; then taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with grated ginger at the table.