Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Soba Noodle Salad with Vegetables and Wasabi Sauce

Soba is a thin Japanese noodle made from Buckwheat flour.It is used in a variety of situations and forms like salad and soups with vegetables and tofu.In contrast udon noodles are thick noodles made from wheat. I obtained a chilled soba noodle salad from here where it was served with julienned veggies and wasabi and ponzu sauce.The ponzu sauce is a common sauce in Japanese cuisine which is tart and citrusy.The post also mentioned substituting ponzu with a mix of soy sauce and lemon juice and I did exactly that.

Ingredients:
Soba noodles: atleast 1/2 pkt

Sesame Oil: 1 tbsp

Ginger: 1 inch piece shredded/grated
Green bell pepper: 1 julienned
Zucchini: 1 small julienned
Spring Onion/Scallion: 1-2 chopped
Mushrooms: few quartered
Carrot : 1 grated/julienned

Sauce Mix:
Ponzu Sauce: 1/4 cup or 3 tbsp of soy sauce + 1 tbsp of lemon juice mixed well
Wasabi Paste: 1/2 tsp + depending on taste

Preparation:
Prepare the soba noodles as per instructions. They already have salt added in them so no need of extra salt.

Heat sesame oil in a wok/pan and add the vegetables julienned ,chopped or quartered and stir fry till tender.Here the veggies may sweat and so no need to add the water or even salt to them.Make sure the veggies are crunchy and not overcooked as the dish is meant to be a salad.So on high flame stir fry them.This takes a few minutes only.Allow them to cool.

Make the sauce by thoroughly mixing the soy sauce and the lemon juice.Add the wasabi paste around 1/2 tsp and them continue mixing/whisking till it blends.


In a serving bowl,add the noodles,vegetables and sauce and mix well.Chill for two hours in the fridge and serve.It can also be served hot or at room temperature.I served it a little warm.Alternately,keep the cooked ingredients and the sauce as such in three different containers and mix each at the time of consuming as per taste.


The noodles were delicious and filling.This was the first time I was making Japanese and the only thing I knew about it was sushi unless you count chef Morimoto.I did not even knew than vegan or vegetarian Japanese existed.I had bought a sushi meal kit but when I found this recipe I decided to go for it.The wonderful thing is this is a saltless recipe ie the noodles have salt in them and the rest of the needed salt is supplied by the soy sauce.So unless you are a very salty person no need to add salt.

A warm bowl is on way to AWED :Japan, an event by DK of CulinaryBazaar and currently hosted by Lavi of HomeCooks.

24 Comments:

Tina said...

I lov this one....looks perfect nd mouthwatering ..hmm i want one bowl now.....

chef and her kitchen said...

lovely salad...n yummy bowl full of noodle stuff..never tasted wasabi..

jayasree said...

Yummy bowl of noodles. i got to know about wasabi from Think Spice event.

Chitra said...

never heard of this one , looks good:-)

FH said...

Wasabi sauce, slurp! :)

Finla said...

I love noodles and this looks really refreshing and yummy delcious.

Trupti said...

salad looks delicious & healthy too

Rachel said...

Wasabi in noodles...I can imagine the explosive taste of it!!1

lubnakarim06 said...

Oh wow awesome.....Heard a lot about wasabi....never tasted it...Noodles look yum...

Yasmeen said...

Yummy! I got a pack of soba noodles last week ,the salad sounds filling with a flavorful wasabi sauce:)

Unknown said...

looks delicious and very authentic

Anonymous said...

Looks real yummy and irresistable !!

Cham said...

Interesting use of wasabi, I ve wasabi paste but not soba noodle! Should be spicy the noodle :)

Shreya said...

love that bowl of noodles...

Priya Suresh said...

Thats a delicious bowl CL..looks yummy!

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Wow drooling here...i love noodles always looking yummy

indhu said...

ooohh... yummy noodles :)
looks very tempting!

- Indhu (www.thayirsaadham.com)

Unknown said...

oohhoo it's anew one for me never tried wasabi helthy recipe sweatha

Sum Raj said...

looks yummy..

Joie de vivre said...

My mother just told me that my local Costco is selling fresh soba noodles. I have never had them before so I was having a hard time visualizing what I would use them for. This looks wonderful! Thanks for the idea!

anudivya said...

Hi hi hi... I am back! I missed you and your blog so much... I kept sneaking a peek every time I had the time, and see that you have come up with such varied recipes as always... you have given me a lot to read! :)

Sanghi said...

Mmmm lovely looking Japan dish! :)

Lavanya Raj said...

Noodle's look's so lovely. Thank's for the entry!

Jude said...

Love the flavor of soba, the only noodles that I have a steady supply of. Would love to try the ponzu wasabi dressing!

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