Now that the weather is getting warmer it’s time for lighter meals. If you are craving noodles try this soba noodle salad made with buckwheat noodles, crunchy fresh vegetables, and a soy sauce based dressing. This meal is quick and easy to assemble. It also makes great leftovers so you can make it as part of a weekend meal prep.
Soba noodles are thin Japanese noodles made from buckwheat flour. They can be served cold or added to soups and are a decent source of protein and fiber.
Buckwheat is actually gluten-free despite the misleading name. However, soba noodles are sometimes made with a mix of buckwheat and wheat flours so you need to check the ingredients to make sure the noodles are made with 100% buckwheat flour if you don’t eat gluten.
To make soba noodle salad, start by cooking the noodles according to the package directions. Then you want to drain the noodles and rinse them with cold water in the colander to stop the cooking process.
While the noodles cook chop up the fresh vegetables. This salad is pretty versatile with what vegetables you use. I used sliced red bell peppers, shredded carrots, and scallions, but you could also use cucumber slices, shredded red cabbage or Nappa cabbage, diced tomatoes, or sugar snap peas. Any vegetables that you would add to a salad would work well here.
If you wanted to add more protein, add a cup of edamame. Chopped cilantro would also be a good addition if you like adding fresh herbs.
Next, make the dressing. Whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, sriracha, garlic powder, red chili flakes, and salt. If you like it spicy add more sriracha. If you don’t like it spicy leave the red pepper flakes and sriracha out.
I love the combination of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. This is my go-to mixture when I want to make a simple and quick Asian sauce.
Once the dressing is made, add the noodles, vegetables, and dressing to a large bowl and toss until everything is coated with the dressing.
Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame Soy Dressing
Ingredients
Soba Noodle Salad
- 12 oz. soba noodles
- 1 bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup shredded carrot
Soy Dressing
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce (use tamari if gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tsp sriracha, more to taste if you like it spicy
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt, more to taste
Instructions
- Cook the soba noodles according to package directions. Drain in a colander and rinse well with cold water.
- While the noodles cook, prepare the dressing. In a medium bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, sriracha, garlic powder, red chili pepper flakes, and salt.
- Transfer the soba noodles to a large bowl. Add the dressing and the chopped veggies to the soba noodles and toss well to combine everything.
