This Soba Noodle Salad is a perfect summer side with grilled chicken or as a main dish on its own.
On a quest for healthy meals for the family, I came across a recipe for a soba noodle soup. Heavy on the ginger, with the addition of spicy sriracha baked tofu, it became the favorite dish I make for Coda. When summer came along, I wanted to be able to serve the same flavors but without the warm broth, and that is where this salad was born. It is very versatile, you can add whatever seasonal veggies are available. In this particular version I was able to add the snow peas and golden zucchini that I grew in the garden this summer.
Do you have a recipe that can be converted and tweaked for the seasons? The only thing about this dish that is still better for fall and winter is that the tofu gets baked in a hot oven. Thinking about alternatives to that hot oven I thought about grilling the tofu. I have not yet tried it, but will let you know when I do! If you have tried it, let me know how it turns out.
Snow peas grown from my garden made a great addition to this salad.
I think the key to the tofu is to dice it up tiny then just letting it bake for awhile till it gets this wonderful chewy texture. Play with how much of the sriracha sauce you use for the level of spice you want. When I make the broth for the soup version of this recipe, I use a ton of fresh ginger paste just like in this recipe, chicken broth, though you could make it vegetarian by using a vegetable based broth. I also add soy sauce and change up the veggies to fall choices like shitake mushrooms.
I added these golden zucchini from the garden to the salad.
I also add miso to the soup version and to add more health benefits to it. I will add a post with the whole soup recipe since summer is starting to fade and we will be thinking about soup real soon. A good alternative to the summer squash in the soup version is winter squash like butternut. I am thinking about trying spaghetti squash as a gluten free version of the soba noodles too. If it is worthy to share with you, I will post it here on the blog.
In this variation of the salad I added shredded carrot ribbons.
The combination possibilities are endless. The carrot ribbons added a cool almost noodle like element. You could even do that with squash and cook it a bit. Play around and come up with your favorite version and please share with us!
To make the salad:
One package of Soba Noodles.
3/4 cup of soy sauce
3 tbsp. fresh ginger paste. Or more. Or less. I like lots of ginger.
1 tbsp. fresh garlic paste
1 tbsp. canola or olive oil to saute the veggies in.
2 tbsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. sesame chili oil. I would add more but my family can’t take the heat!
1 cake of extra firm organic tofu
sriracha sauce. You will use this to taste. I usually use enough to coat the tofu evenly, so 4 tbsp. should do the trick.
cooking spray or oil to coat the baking sheet
veggies:
Use a variety like:
Zucchini- diced into small pieces
snow peas. About a cup will do.
chopped scallions for garnish
chopped cilantro for garnish
sesame seeds sprinkled on top
Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees and draining the water off the tofu. If you have a tofu press, use that to get all the water out of it. I never do and it works just fine. Once you have drained and rinsed the tofu, dice it as small as you can into tiny cubes. Take a baking sheet and oil it up with cooking spray or other cooking oil to coat the sheet. in a bowl toss your tofu with the sriracha and chili oil. Spread the tofu on the pan evenly and bake it for 30 minutes or until browned and chewy.
Meanwhile while the tofu bakes boil the noodles according to the package directions. Sautee the veggies, garlic and ginger in the tbsp. of oil until tender or about 5 minutes on medium high heat. Take the tofu out of the oven to cool for about 10 minutes
Drain the noodles and transfer to a large bowl. Toss the sesame oil, soy sauce, tofu and veggies with the noodles. sprinkle each serving with fresh scallions, cilantro and sesame seeds. Serve to happy and appreciative hungry people.
I hope you enjoy this salad and look forward to hearing what variations you have created.
Be creative and stay inspired!
