Soba Slaw with Peanut Dressing

This salad makes a wonderful, tasty, satisfying meal. It can be served warm or cold.

This recipe is broken in three parts. The noodles, the slaw, and the dressing. This recipe was adapted from Christina Cooks.

Yield: about 4-5 servings

The Noodles

  • 3-4 bundles, uncooked soba noodles (see notes below)
  • 3-4 drops toasted sesame oil, optional

Ingredients for Slaw

  • 6 cups shredded cabbage, consider a combination of green and purple
  • 1½ cup carrots, julienned (about 2 medium carrots)
  • 3-4 green onions, diagonally sliced
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts

Peanut Dressing

  • 5 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 5 Tbsp brown rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup water or use oil replacement
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced 
  • 1 tsp fresh grated ginger zest
  • 2 Tbsp peanut butter, unsweetened 
  • 1 tsp Sambal Oelek or Sriracha, hot chili sauce is optional

Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook soba noodles according to directions. Soba noodles take about 3 minutes to cook. Be careful to not overcook. Drain, rinse and transfer noodles to a bowl/container. Sprinkle with a few drops of toasted sesame oil and set aside.
  2. In a small sauce pan over medium low heat add soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, garlic, and ginger. Bring to boil, remove from heat then whisk in the peanut butter and hot sauce. Set aside until ready to toss with slaw. 
  3. In a large mixing bowl toss the cabbage and carrots with the peanut sauce. Mix well to distribute.
  4. I like to keep the noodles separate from the slaw. When ready to eat, I portion the noodles and slaw into individual bowls. I put a handful of noodles in the bottom of a bowl then heap slaw over the noodles. Garnish with peanuts, scallions and serve.
  5. Keep leftovers in a sealed container and refrigerate. Eat within a couple of days.

Note

  • 4 oz dry soba noodles makes 12 oz cooked.
  • Soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour which is gluten free. However, if you are gluten intolerant check the ingredients as many brands of soba noodles are made with a mixture of buckwheat and wheat flour. Other gluten free options include edamame or black bean noodles.