Healthy and Delicious: How to make Soba Noodle Salad

T-Mag Sunday 16/October/2016 12:37 PM
By: Times News Service
Healthy and Delicious: How to make Soba Noodle Salad

Origin: Japan
Composition: Buckwheat Flour
Serving Style: Traditionally served either chilled alongside soba tsuyu dipping sauce or as a soup in a warm broth
Flavour and Texture: Nutty, tender, thin noodles that hold up well in cold salads or in hot soups
Cooking Tips: Do not salt the water (as many do for Italian noodles). Once boiling, add noodles and turn down to simmer for less than 10 minutes. Rinse the cooked noodles under cold water to remove excess starch before serving.

These thin, protein rich noodles are so popular in Japan, that soba has become synonymous with any thin noodle. The noodles are a Japanese summertime favourite, served cold in little bundles and dunked in light dipping sauces or in light soups. Many soba noodles are gluten-free (though some brands use both buckwheat and wheat flour) and they are packed with protein and fibre, making them a healthy power food. Though far from traditional, my favourite way to eat them is in a cold, peanut sauce salad.

10 Minute Cold Soba Salad
This quick, healthy weeknight recipe is very forgiving, so feel free to tweak-to-taste and if you are missing an ingredient, the salad will surely survive (and still be delicious) without it.

Ingredients
2 bundles of soba noodles

Sauce:
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter (or tahini)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar (or honey)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
(more if you like spicy)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (add to taste)

Veggies
*Use whatever you have on hand, adjust the below
suggestions to suit your taste
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced (1.1/2 cups)
• 1 small red bell pepper, sliced (1 cup)
• 1 large carrot, grated (1/2 cup)
• 3-5 scallions, chopped
• 1 birdseye chilli, finely sliced (more or less,
depending on how spicy you like it)

Toppers (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
diced hot chilli pepper
• Sriracha hot sauce
• Cilantro leaves

Instructions
1. Cook noodles in boiling water according to package directions. Drain, and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. Set aside.
2. Mix sauce ingredients well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add water or lime juice if it is too thick.
3. Toss together noodles, sauce, and chopped vegetables. Garnish with cilantro, diced chilli pepper, chopped peanuts, or toasted sesame seeds and serve with Sriracha hot sauce, if you like.

Competition Time: Show us your noodles
The soba show-and-tell: If you made it, post it on Hi Weekly Facebook or on Instagram
@HiWeekly_Oman.
The two soba salads with the most Likes and Shares on Facebook, and the two Instagram sobas with the most likes, will win gift certificates to the authentic Chinese restaurant, Mamasan.

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