Summer Color Mélange Soba Noodle Salad

Refreshing and easily customizable

Cold soba or buckwheat noodle dish is a staple in Japanese summer and for me it evokes a feeling of refreshing sound of a wind chime in a humid heat. It’s often eaten in a simple manner with a few toppings (wasabi, green onion, nori/dried seaweed) and a dipping sauce. It could make an easy side dish. I like to make it a complete and fulfilling meal by adding a variety of colorful “dipee’s” – vegetable/fruits and protein – and additional seasonings that will bring in rich flavors.

The ingredients can be incredibly flexible and you can try whatever seems good to you in salads, as long as it has a relatively mild flavor/taste profile which won’t overpower the dipping sauce. You will get a great enjoyment out of imagining combinations of ingredients that have their own individual, subtle tastes and will shine on its own or as a whole once dipped in the sauce.

Some ideas include:

• Vegetables – sugar snap or snow peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, blanched broccolis, spinach (blanch and wring out water) and julienned bell peppers.
• Fruits – thin slices of sweet & tangy fruits like apricot and nectarine.
• Proteins – chicken thighs/breasts (steamed or broiled in sake/soy mix – see Tips & Shortcuts post), creped (after adding a pinch of salt and soy sauce) and sliced egg, tofu (thinly sliced and lightly baked), shrimp, scallop, and crab.
• Flavor game changer – dried shiitake mushrooms, hydrated and cooked in its own juice with a touch of mirin (or sugar) and soy sauce. You should add the cooking juice to the dipping sauce as well.

Orchestrating different harmonies of taste, flavor, and hagotae

In pre-cooking some of the ingredients, remember to keep the seasonings very light to let the dipping sauce do the proper job when you enjoy the gorgeous mixture of flavors and tastes. There is a word in Japanese called “hagotae” which means how the food feels when you chew in terms of its firmness and chewiness. This dish allows you to showcase varying degrees of “hagotae”.

Dipping sauce

Traditional cold noodle sauce is made by combining water + soy sauce + mirin (Japanese sweet wine) + sugar + dashi (Japanese soup stock made with kombu/dried kelp and katsuobushi/bonito flakes). Many sites, like Serious Eats here explains how to make it.

I usually use a pre-made noodle sauce like the one here which you can get in many Japanese/Asian or some regular grocery stores. For me, the best way is to add 1/2 of the specified amount of water, heat the mix to a boiling point, and add ice cubes. You can taste and add more ice or cold water. You can taste the right level of thickness when it’s a bit too salty to drink it on it’s own.

Experiment with other noodles

You can also use different types of noodles like udon or somen (thin, vermicelli like wheat noodle) and even yellow noodle or this tofu based noodle (in that case, I recommend using a thicker dipping sauce with crushed peanuts and vinegar, garlic, and ginger).

In eating, I like dipping a few pieces at time in a sauce (you can certainly use forks instead of chop sticks) because it allows me to enjoy the taste of each ingredient. It also prevents me from over-eating. However, if you are in a hurry, by all means, mix everything together, add toppings, and pour the sauce to eat like a regular salad!

Summer soba noodle salad

Cold soba noodles with assortment of vegetables, proteins (chicken, egg), and condiments (green onion, toasted sesame seeds, grated ginger, nori/seaweed). Dip in a sauce little by little or jumble everything together to enjoy.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 2 people

Calories 684 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 5 ounce dried soba noodles nowadays typically made with a mix of wheat and buckwheat flours (originally was just with buckwheat flour).
• 6 ounce boneless skinless chicken thighs likely 2-3 pieces. can substitute with with a chicken breast or other light meat or fish.
• 2 piece eggs
• 3 piece apricots to add orange color and flavor. Orange bell pepper is also a good choice.
• 1 piece nectarine to add red color and flavor. Tomato or red bell pepper can be a good choice.
• 1 cup sugar snap peas can use snow peas or green beans.
• 1.5 cup baby broccolis can use broccoli or spinach
• 7 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms pre-soaked
• 1/4 cup Japanese noodle soup base see instructions below for making from scratch
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds for topping condiment. hulled and toasted
• 3 stalk green onion for topping condiment.
• 1 tbsp grated ginger for topping condiment
• 2 tsp mirin for eggs; can use 1/2 tsp of sugar instead
• 1/8 tsp salt for eggs
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil to cook eggs
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flake for chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp sake for chicken thighs. can skip.
• 2 tsp wasabi for topping condiment.

Instructions

 

• Prepare dipping sauce – if you are using pre-made dipping sauce (which I usually do), follow the package instruction to dilute. I often add about 20% more water to avoid taking too much sodium. Later, before serving, add any remaining sauce from cooked shiitake (below).

  NOTE: If you are making it from scratch, combine 1 cup of cold water + 4-tbsp soy sauce + 2-tbsp mirin + 1-tbsp sugar (+ abut 2-inch square of kombu/dried kelp, if you have any) in a small sauce pan, cook for a few minutes, and let it cool. Take out kombu once the dipping sauce is cold.
  
• Cook pre-soaked dried shiitake mushroom (for 10 min.) – To soak dried shiitake, briefly wash them just to remove dirt, place them in a glass jar just large enough to fit all the pieces, and add a spoonful of sugar. Pour lukewarm water over shiitake enough to cover all the pieces, close the lid to push down all the pieces in the liquid, and let it stand for about 30 minutes, until all the pieces soften and double in size. (NOTE: I often soak them in a batch and keep the unused pieces in a fridge, which can last up to 2-3 weeks.) Slice softened shiitake in thin pieces and cook for about 10 minutes in a small sauce pan with 2-3 tablespoons of pre-soak water + 1/4 cup of diluted dipping sauce (below). Cook for about 10 minutes and let them cool in the pan. After fishing out shiitake to a plate, add remaining sauce to the dipping sauce.
  
• Cook eggs in thin layers – mix eggs, 2 tsp mirin and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Heat a small non-stick frying pan medium high, once the pan is hot, drop and spread sesame oil with a brush or paper towel (keep it for 2nd and 3rd pieces), dollop 1/3 of the egg mix and swirl the pan to form a relatively even, thin layer. Wait for about 1 minute until the egg is almost cooked and transfer it to a cutting board. Using the saved brush or paper towel to lightly grease the pan and make 2nd and 3rd pieces. Let it cool and slice them in thin pieces.
• Cook chicken thighs – sprinkle salt, red pepper flakes, and sake and bake in an oven at 400F for 8 minutes, turn and bake for another 7 minutes. Let it cool and slice in thin pieces.
• Slice raw red/orange/green fruits & vegetables in thin pieces. This time I used nectarine and apricots because I had them at hand. I often use orange and red bell peppers and cucumbers.
• Wash sugar snap peas and remove strings.
• Wash broccolini well (there may be some bugs so wash at least twice).
• Prepare toppings condiments – grate ginger (or you can use ginger paste in a tube). Chop green onion in thin pieces. Briefly toast sesame seeds and use them as is or use a mortar to grind less than 1/2 way (I use an old Japanese mortar with ridges called "suribachi" but that's not necessary).
  
• Blanch peas and broccolini and cook noodle – Bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Keep the flame medium-high. Throw in sugar snap peas and immediately fish them out. When the water returns to a boil, throw in broccolini and fish out immediately. When the water returns to a boil again, throw in noodles, wait until the water returns to a vigorous boil, and throw in 1-1/2 cups of cold water. When it returns to a vigorous boil again, turn off the heat and let it sit for about 2 minutes before draining. The total noodle boiling time is about 6-7 minutes, depending on your preference and how much buckwheat v wheat flours the noodle contains. After you drain the noodles, rinse quickly under a cold water.
• Arrange the ingredients in groups – noodle + dipping sauce + protein/vegetables/shiitake +toppings. This time, I used multiple small plates, and you can combine them in a larger plate like this example.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 684kcalCarbohydrates: 92gProtein: 44gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 244mgSodium: 1947mgPotassium: 998mgFiber: 8gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 5424IUVitamin C: 206mgCalcium: 310mgIron: 8mg

Keyword healthy, soba noodles, summer main, summer salad

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