This recipe for quick and simple soba noodles is delicious, healthy, and simple to make. Keep it vegan or add your favorite protein. Packed with succulent texture, fresh flavors, and tender vegetables. Make it in 35 minutes! Video.
The buckwheat in the soba noodles in this simple recipe for soba noodles provides a significant boost in nutrition in addition to that incredible noodle satisfaction. There is just something about the texture and satisfying mouth feel of noodle dishes that is so comforting, and I think I could eat these noodles every day. I adore how incredibly nourishing soba noodles are, making them a guilt-free treat.
This stirfry comes together really fast. When all the ingredients are prepared and ready, cooking only takes a few minutes. The sauce is straightforward and really brings out the flavor of the buckwheat in the soba noodles, as well as perfectly enhancing the fresh vegetables.
Vegetables can be substituted with any ingredients you have on hand. Vegetables that have been thinly sliced cook more quickly and make it simpler to combine noodles and vegetables in each bite. Although it is also quite tasty at room temperature, I find that serving this Soba Noodle Stirfry warm is the most comforting. The leftovers are consumed cold straight from the fridge by my kids!
New & Unique Ingredients: Treasure EmporiYUM
I just recently discovered some awesome, new-to-me products at Smith’s aka Kroger thanks to their Treasure EmporiYUM, a curated section of some of their most unique, hand-crafted items from their Simple Truth, Private Selection and Hemisfares brands. I am always scoping out the grocery aisles for the latest and the greatest, and I LOVE how now it’s all in one spot!
I learned about these interesting toppings for my sesame noodles there:
Now THIS is dinner!
How to Make Sesame Soba Noodles
Similar to any noodle recipe, the sauce and aromatics are what give a plain noodle its flavor. And again, with soba, you want to keep things simple. And that means a simple sauce is in order.
The ingredients for this sauce are:
The soba noodle cooking and the sauce’s preparation are both quick. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes or 1/4 teaspoon of chili garlic sauce for a spicier bite.
Make sure your sesame oil is fresh when using it. If not stored properly, sesame oil will lose quality quickly after being opened due to its short shelf life. I keep mine in the fridge, but I also always keep a fresh bottle in my pantry as a backup.
Sesame seeds should be toasted in a dry pan over medium-high heat. To prevent burning, move the seeds around frequently in the pan. Don’t skip this step, it toasting totally makes the difference.
The only other flavor enhancer in this dish, keeping with our simple theme, is green onion, which is added in abundance in two different steps.
The green onion is first diced and then chopped into 1/2-inch lengths.
Before adding the sauce to the pan, the larger green onion pieces are quickly cooked. After that, when the noodles are added, add a lot of the diced green onions to the warm noodles and sauce, reserving some to add right before serving for a crisp crunch and bite.
In addition to being delicious on their own or as a simple side dish, these sesame soba noodles also make a super simple base for noodle bowls.
The sesame noodle bowls can also be an entertaining idea for a DIY doctor-it-up meal by adding various proteins to go with them, such as:
Yes, you can opt for a baked chicken dish with a hoisin or teriyaki glaze and sliced chicken.
How to Eat Soba Noodles Correctly in Japan
Undoubtedly, zaru soba is a straightforward dish, but there is a proper way to eat the noodles.
Place the dipping sauce (tsuyu) pitcher and small dishes with chopped green onions and grated wasabi on the table. Soba noodles are served on a plate (or “zaru”), and dipping sauce is served in a tiny bowl or cup.
Serve the dipping sauce to yourself in the miniature bowl or cup and top with your preferred toppings, such as green onions, wasabi, grated daikon, sesame seeds, or grated ginger. Then take a handful of soba noodles, quickly coat them in the dipping sauce, and slurp the noodles. Don’t let the noodles soak in the dipping sauce for an extended period of time because it contains salt.
When you’re finished with the noodles, you can combine the remaining dipping sauce in the bowl or cup with the soba cooking water that was set aside and use it as a soup broth.
In the context of a meal, soba can also be enjoyed with a variety of supplementary vegetables, including salads made of lettuce or cabbage and mushrooms, carrots, and daikon radish.
It’s very common for the noodles to be served with tempura at soba or udon noodle shops. Tenzaru () is the name of the dish when zaru soba and tempura are served together.
Typically, my mother serves zaru soba with vegetable and shrimp tempura. Although this Japanese cold soba noodle dish is a great summer dish, deep-frying tempura in the sweltering heat of the day can be difficult. But I can definitely say tenzaru is worth the effort!.
FAQ
Should soba noodles be served cold?
Buckwheat noodles, or soba, are a staple in Japanese cuisine. Buckwheat noodles are chewy and have a grainy texture; they can be consumed hot, cold, or at room temperature.
How are soba noodles served in Japan?
According to Inaoka, “seiro is the most traditional way to eat soba noodles in Kyoto.” “The plain buckwheat noodles are served cold with wasabi, Japanese green onions, and a dipping sauce that is typically made with dashi and soy sauce on the side. But they can also be eaten hot in a soup. This is called kake soba. ”.
What do u eat soba with?
A deep bowl of hot soba is used to serve it, and it is filled with broth, noodles, and the flavorings of your choice. A bowl of condiments with sliced negi (spring onions), ginger, and wasabi will probably be on the side.
How do you eat soba at home?
The easiest way to eat soba is in a zaru (a bamboo sieve on which the noodles are placed). After boiling the noodles, you chill them thoroughly and eat them by dipping them into a thin, cold broth. If you like, you can add ingredients to the broth like spring onions, white sesame, and wasabi (Japanese horseradish).
