I was craving a cold noodle salad to go with seared ahi tuna and came up with this. It was sooo good! So were the leftovers. It is basically chilled noodles and raw veggies with a spicy vinaigrette. It was perfect with tuna last night and perfect without tuna for lunch today. This was my first time using Soba noodles, and I must say, it will not be my last! If you are new to this variety of noodle, they are Japanese noodles made primarily from buckwheat. They have a lovely sort of nutty flavor. Use whatever veggies sound good to you. I came across some baby Bok choy at Earth Fare and used that along with carrots, cucumbers and peppers. Just cut everything into small enough pieces that it can be nicely incorporated into the noodles. I used radishes, avocados, scallions, and jalapeños to garnish. And of course, adjust the spice level to your liking. I marked the hot stuff with an *.
½red bell pepperseeded and thinly sliced into strips
4baby Bok choy stalksstalks thinly sliced and tops rolled and cut into ribbons
1large carrotpeeled and grated
½English cucumberquartered lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
Garnishes
½avocadodiced
4-6scallions sliced on the diagonal
3-4radishesthinly sliced
½jalapeño or serranothinly sliced or minced*
Instructions
Make the vinaigrette by putting everything in a small bowl and whisking.
Cook the noodles. Boil a pot of water, salt it and add a splash of olive oil, then cook the Soba noodles according to directions until al dente. Drain, toss with a little of the vinaigrette to prevent clumping, then set aside to cool.
While the noodles cook, prepare the salad veggies.
Once the noodles are cool, add the veggies and vinaigrette and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Right before serving, peel and dice the avocado, and slice the rest of the veggies you will use to garnish. Enjoy!