Soba Sesame Peanut Noodle Salad

Soba Sesame Peanut Noodle Salad

This perfect Soba Sesame Peanut Noodle Salad is easy to make and is a great Springtime recipe as you can use any seasonal veggie you have on hand. 

Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and wheat flour and have a slightly nutty, earthy taste. We love creating our own Asian food, but sometimes rice as a side can become a bit boring. That’s where soba noodles come in. They are easy to find now at the grocery stores and they don’t take long to cook and are best made al dente to keep their slightly earthy chew. A few minutes boiling time is all you really need.

In this recipe, I suggest a few veggies that work, but other suggestions are bok choy, asparagus, mushrooms and green onions. I also used tofu, but shrimp, chicken or beef would also be delicious.

WHAT YOU NEED

  • 1 head of broccoli
  • 1 red or orange pepper
  • 1 small zucchini
  • 2-3 large carrots
  • 1 large white onion
  • garlic and ginger (fresh is best)
  • 1 block of extra firm tofu
  • 1 package of soba noodles

FOR THE SESAME PEANUT SAUCE

  • 1/2 cup of peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp of rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp of soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp of sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp of honey
  • 1 large nub of fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 juice of a lime (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp of red hot chilli flakes (optional)

WHAT TO DO

  1. Start with chopping up all the veggies into bite-size pieces.
  2. If you are using tofu, open the package and drain tofu. I press mine between paper towel to get al the extra moisture out of it (about 5 mins). Then chop tofu and bake at 400 for 20 minutes with a little sesame oil, ginger &garlic powder and salt and pepper.
  3. Now to cook the veggies, start with sauteing the onion in a little sesame oil. Once the onion is fragrant and browning, add the rest of the veggies and fresh garlic and ginger on medium to high heat, and sautee until the veggies start to soften and cook. Once they are cooked you can turn down the heat or turn it off.
  4. To cook the noodles, follow the package instructions. Most only take a few minutes and don’t need to be rinsed in cold water.
  5. Lastly to make the sauce, blend all the sauce ingredients in a high-speed blender (any blender would work).
  6. Now to put the whole salad together:) Once everything is cooked, you could simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl and drizzle on the sauce. I like to build the bowls individually as shown in the photos and drizzle on the sauce so the kids can mix it all up in their bowls.
  7. ENJOY with a little sprinkle of sesame seeds, green onions or cilantro.

This recipe is really all about the sauce. You could do it with rice, your option of veggies, and without any protein. This recipe will feed a family of four (or five if you have little ones).