Soba Sesame Salad (Chilled Buckwheat Noodle Sesame Dressing)

Name: Soba Sesame Salad (Chilled Buckwheat Noodle Sesame Dressing)
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: soba noodles 160 g; cucumber 100 g; carrot 70 g; red cabbage 80 g; soy sauce 1.5 tbsp; sesame seeds 1 tbsp; sesame oil 1 tsp; rice vinegar 1 tbsp

Quick answer

Total time: 20 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients: 8

About this dish

Cold soba, rinsed until the strands feel clean, gets a light coat of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.

Cutting cucumber, carrot, and red cabbage as thin as the noodles lets each mouthful pick up vegetables and buckwheat together instead of leaving the cabbage in a heap at the bottom of the bowl. The salad tastes best the moment it is tossed; left sitting in the dressing, the noodles go soft and the flavor turns watery.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Julienne 100 g cucumber, 70 g carrot, and 80 g red cabbage into thin, even strips.

Keep the cuts similar in thickness so the vegetables distribute through the noodles instead of clumping in separate patches.
2

Cook 160 g soba noodles in boiling water until tender but still springy.

If the pot foams or threatens to overflow, lower the heat to medium so the noodles cook evenly without breaking.
3

Rinse the cooked noodles immediately in several changes of cold water to remove heat and surface starch.

Rub them gently by hand as you rinse until the slippery film lessens and the strands feel clean.
4

Drain the noodles thoroughly in a sieve and let them cool completely.

Shake off trapped water because excess moisture thins the dressing on contact and makes the sesame, soy sauce, and vinegar taste weaker.
5

Mix 1.5 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds before tossing.

Stir until the sesame seeds are evenly suspended so the seasoning coats the bowl consistently.
6

Just before serving, place the cold noodles and vegetables in a large bowl, pour over the dressing, and toss lightly.

Serve cold right away after checking that the strands are coated but not soaking.