This soba noodle salad with sesame tahini dressing is super easy to make and can be eaten lukewarm or cold. The delicious dressing is rich with sesame paste, which gives a wonderful nutty flavour. The salad is packed with crunchy vegetables like cucumber, carrot, cabbage and bell pepper. Perfect for a healthy lunch or dinner!
WHAT ARE SOBA NOODLES?
Soba is a thin Japanese noodle made with buckwheat flour. which gives it its unique flavour and brownish color. They can be eaten hot or cold and can be used in salads, soups or served with a dipping sauce. Nowadays, you can find soba noodles at most local grocery stores . Otherwise, it’s a good excuse to visit an Asian supermarket (one of my favorite things to do in Amsterdam, I always discover new things).
SOBA NOODLE SALAD WITH SESAME TAHINI DRESSING
This salad is very easy to make and can also be prepped a few hours in advance and chilled in the fridge until serving. It’s also perfect as a take away lunch or for a picknick. I’ve used a variety of vegetables in this salad, but you can of course use whatever you still have laying around, like red cabbage, green beans, Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, celery, steamed pumpkin, fried mushrooms, etc. The dressing has a nutty and tangy flavour from the tahini (a Middle-Eastern sesame paste) and the rice wine vinegar. The soy sauce adds the saltiness and the honey gives the sweet accent. To enhance even more the taste of sesame, I like to add sesame oil to the dressing and sprinkle the salad with black and white sesame seeds.
SOBA NOODLE SALAD TOPPINGS
You can get creative with topping your soba noodle salad. To serve you could add some extra cashew nuts or toasted peanuts, sliced spring onion, coriander, mint, sesame seeds or Chinese chilli crisp oil. But you can also add a boiled egg, or some marinated and cooked tofu or seafood.
INGREDIENTS FOR SOBA NOODLE SALAD
- 150 gr soba noodles
- 1/3 cucumber, cut into julienne (thin strips)
- 6 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1/2 carrot, cut into julienne (thin strips)
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into small strips
- handful of steamed broccoli florets
- 30 gr cabbage (pointed head or white), thinly sliced
dressing
- 2 1/2 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
- 1 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 3 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (or ground black pepper)
To serve:
- Spring onion, finely sliced
- Sesame seeds (white and black)
- Fresh coriander, chopped
- Mint
- Chinese chilli crisp oil
HOW TO PREPARE SOBA NOODLE SALAD
- Boil the soba noodles in a large pot of water according to the package instructions. Once they’re cooked, rinse with cold water and drain well and set aside.
- Put all the ingredients for the the dressing in a bowl and mix well. In case the dressing is too thick, add a little but more water.
- Place all the salad ingredients into a large bowl and add the noodles, toss well so everything is coated with the dressing.
- Serve the noodles with some extra sesame seeds, coriander, mint and spring onion.
I’d love to see your beautiful creations so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook!
