Soba Salad with Cucumber, Carrot, Snow Peas & Edamame

Here’s a refreshing noodle salad that is especially delicious on a warm summer day.  The salad can be made in advance and refrigerated until you’re ready to serve it.  In fact, you can make it a day in advance and it will be in perfect condition the following day.

Soba noodles can be served hot or cold with toppings such as tempura,  fish cake, nori, mushrooms, egg, vegetables, and fish.  I love all preparations but my first choice is the cold version with a refreshing dressing drizzled over noodles topped with delicately sliced vegetables.I have only tried fresh soba noodles once, on a visit to Honolulu.  They were delicious.   But in the absence of fresh noodles, the dried variety works fine.

I like to use carrot, cucumber, snow peas and edamame.  You can use almost any vegetable. The important thing to remember is to julienne your vegetables so they are similar in size to the soba noodles.  This creates a pretty tangle of colorful vegetables combined with the noodles.

Soba Noodle Salad with Cucumber, Carrot, Snow Peas & Edamame

Serves 2

Ingredients

Dressing

1/4 cup rice vinegar (unseasoned)

1 tablespoon sweet mirin

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds

freshly ground pepper

Salad

2 bundles soba noodles (about 6 ounces)

2 ounces snow peas (about 16)

1/2 small carrot, julienned

1/2 Japanese or English cucumber, julienned

1/4 cup boiled edamame

fresh cilantro (optional)

Preparation 

Place all of the dressing ingredients in a small jar and shake to combine or whisk together in a small bowl.

Cook soba noodles as directed on the package (check the noodles 1 minute prior to the total cooking time to test for doneness).  Rinse noodles under cold water and drain well.  Divide noodles into two wide bowls or large salad plates.

Blanch the snow peas in boiling water for 25 seconds.  Place in an ice water bath to stop the cooking.  Drain well on paper towels.  Thinly slice blanched peas on the diagonal.

Julienne the carrot and cucumber.  You can remove the skin of the cucumber or leave it on.  I prefer to remove strips of the skin so that some of the bright green color remains.

Layer the snow peas, carrot and cucumber on the noodles.  Scatter the edamame on and around the noodles.  If you enjoy cilantro, add chopped cilantro over the soba salad.

Drizzle sesame dressing over the salad and serve.