Soba Noodles & Vegetables With Spring Onion Sauce Recipe

an energizing recipe

This energizing recipe uses soba, which is buckwheat (which is not a wheat) in the form of a noodle. One-hundred percent buckwheat soba (made without wheat flour) should be cooked in a large pot so that the noodles do not stick together. Soba usually already contains salt, so little to no extra is needed. 


Visit your local farmers market for spring onions.


Ingredients

  • 3 ⅓ cups water

  • Sea salt

  • 8 oz buckwheat (soba) noodles

  • 6 spring onions, cut into ¼” pieces

  • 1 red onion, cut into 1/2 moons

  • 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

  • Cold-pressed, untoasted sesame oil

  • 1 head of broccoli: florets chopped and separated out & stems cut into matchsticks

  • Small handful of sunflower or sesame seeds, dry toasted

  • ¼ cup tahini (sesame paste) or peanut butter (unsweetened)

  • 1 Tbsp each tamari and mirin

  • Chopped parsley for garnish

Directions

  1. Bring 3 cups of water to boil in a large pot. Add a pinch of salt and noodles. Shock by adding 1/2 cup cold water to boiling water. Bring to boil again and repeat two more times. Cook until tender but still firm, drain, toss with a drizzle of sesame oil and let stand.

  2. In a small saucepan, add ⅓ cup water to spring onions; cover and simmer until soft.

  3. Place cut red onions into one small bowl, matchstick carrots and broccoli stem in another, and florets in a third.

  4. Add to a warm frying pan a bit of oil, a pinch of salt, and red onion. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes or until the onion is transparent. Remove lid, and add carrot and broccoli stems, stirring briskly for 5 minutes. Stir in florets, add a little water if necessary, and cook until tender. Add toasted sunflower or sesame seeds. Remove from heat and let stand.

  5. Add tamari and mirin to the cooked spring onion. Add tahini or peanut butter and stir until smooth and adjust seasonings to taste. Arrange vegetables on noodles, spoon sauce on top, and garnish with chopped parsley.

Variations: Try combinations of mushroom and zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, and snow peas.

Patrica Lopez