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Cold soba noodle salad is a great side dish or meatless meal.
Cool Side Or Cool Meal
We’re all looking for cool stuff to eat since it’s been brutally hot lately. That’s cool meaning temperature but it’s also a cool, meaning awesome, thing to eat too.
Soba noodles are all the rage lately. There’s so many ways to use them. This cold soba noodle pasta salad is just one way to use them. This salad makes a great side for grilled fish or chicken. But this can also stand in for a main course. Even better is it’s vegetarian so if you have guests who no longer eat meat, it’s a perfect choice for a main course.
It’s not vegan because of the honey, but if you can find a good substitute for that, then you have a vegan meal.
Herb Combos
Actually, any choice of herbs is up to you and your individual tastes.
I used an equal amount of basil, parsley and cilantro. I know basil seems a bit unusual for something with Asian notes, but it worked well–at least for me. Staying in the basil family, you can substitute Thai basil for the regular kind. The only reason I didn’t do that was I chose not to grow that variety this year.
Using all cilantro works here too. It’s an herb used a lot in Asian cuisine so you can’t go wrong. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of it because I’m one of those people who finds it tastes soapy–but that’s if there’s too much. A small amount combined with the other herbs is quite nice.
But whatever you choose to use, please use fresh herbs.
Add More Flavor
There’s only a drop of chili paste (sambai oelek) in the dressing. It adds flavor but no heat to speak of. It’s got a wonderful flavor so if you like food with a bit of heat, add as much of that as you like.
Garlic is also a nice addition to the dressing. It’s not necessary to add it, but if you want to introduce the flavor then add one clove, pressed, into the mix.
The Recipe
Cold Soba Noodle Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz Soba noodles uncooked
- 1 tbs chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tbs chopped fresh basil
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 1 tbs rice vinegar
- 1 tbs lime juice
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tbs toasted sesame seed
- 1/4 tsp chili paste sambai oelek
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Place drained noodles in a large bowl and add the herbs.
- Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Add to the noodles and toss to coat.
- Chill for at least 1 hour.
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