Sesame ginger soba noodles


I have nothing against those recipes featuring instructions galore, or the ones with ingredient lists spreading across pages, but I am definitely not trying one of those on a cold and dark autumn evening. The extra hour of darkness we earned for our evenings ever since last Sunday, resulted in an increased affection for favorite quick fix meals, and a comfort ginger sesame soba noodles is back in the everyday food radar. Soba noodle is made of buckwheat flour, and as far as I gather it is a wonder flour, low in gluten, contains rutin, and the calorie value per cup is closer to that of whole wheat flour. Along with all these formidable qualities this flour also has a unique earthy and nutty taste, which is mildly reflected in soba noodles. Tossing these noodles with a simple sesame-ginger dressing with a dash of mirin is all you need to complement the inherent flavor. To make things even better, this is a versatile recipe. On a hot summer day, if you are upset by an overwhelming abundance of sunshine(!), fix it up as a cold noodle salad or on the turn of the plate if you are sulking on a chilly wintry evening, perplexed about what to cook, toss some hot freshly cooked noodles with a warm dressing made with the same set of ingredients, and you will never be disappointed. One of these days, I will find my sunny self again and might disappear into the kitchen to try out something special, but for now we are very pleased with our hot noodle bowls !
6 ounces dried buckwheat (soba) noodles
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon peanut sauce
2 tbsp finely grated ginger
½ tsp grated garlic
1 cup finely shredded green onions
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame paste
½ tsp mirin (optional)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1-2 tsp chilly paste or oil (adjust according to your heat tolerance)
Vegetable oil – ½ tsp


Dry roast sesame seeds, keep aside. Cook Soba noodles in excess of water. Drain and keep it covered. Heat ½ tsp vegetable oil in a pan; add finely minced garlic, stir fry for half a minute. Lower the heat to minimum, add grated ginger and ¼ cup of chopped scallions, stir well. Turn of the heat. Add sesame paste, peanut sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and chilly oil ( or paste). Whisk all the ingredients together. While the noodles are still hot, toss with the sauce mixture and add toasted sesame seeds and the remaining green onions. Top with your choice of meat, seafood, eggs or vegetables, stir fried or grilled. For a summer salad, make a dressing by simply whisking all the ingredients together, mix with cold cooked noodles just before serving.

29 comments:

Mrs. K said...

soba..soba...
I'm the first to comment! (if noone else jumped in while I am typing.)
Looks great!

Shah cooks said...

Somehow, the early darkness is making me huddle up and search for simple recipes..so glad to see one.where did u get the noodles? Asian stores?I have seen buckwheat grains, not noodles as yet.

arundati said...

dear archana...i'm new to the food blogsphere...your page is already a favourite...i liked the way you wrote about the changing weather, light, moods...and its undeniable relationship with the foods that we seek....we've not seen the sun in hyd for a few days now...made me reach out for some comforting sphagetti today...cheers!!

Anonymous said...

Hello Archana! This is Rg.

Wow! a simple recipe to impress my hubby and it sure has entered in my must-try list. Are Mirin and this particular noodle available in stores like Kroger? Anyways, thanks for this recipe Archana.

Btw, I made mango mousee for the diwali potluck party. Forgot to let you know the outcome. :)Archana, everybody asked me for the recipe. Their kids loved it too. Thanks for letting me know the substitute ingredient for the egg and it's quantity too. Thanks a lot Archana. I'll be trying out again , this time with egg. :) Dhaanks.

Rg.

FH said...

I have never tried Soba Noodles, have heard of it a lot.Looks good,give it a try one day:))

Gattina Cheung said...

Your prawns are my "sunshine"! Warming my heart during these cloudy days... and what a delightful photo too!
My husband loves eating soba cold, not me, I like your version!

Meena Kandlakuti said...

I love any kind of noodles....But little lazy in preparing the traditional one..always choos maggi noodles with a twist of mine adding different flavour to it...shall try onec this recipe.Thanks for sharing Archana.

Anonymous said...

You're right Archana, anything that takes too much time away from my warm bed or cosy couch is a no-no right now, love the recipe!

Nabeela said...

lovely dish as ususal Archana, not to forget easy-peasy!

starry said...

Never heard of buckwheat noodles. where are they available. simple yet delicious on a cold day. will have to try it.

Kelly Loy Gilbert said...

I'm making this for a friend tonight--can't wait to try it! Thanks for sharing.

Vani said...

Never tried soba noodles at home. The picture looks great!

Jayashree said...

Another awesome pic.....haven't tried soba before...but it sure looks good.

Anonymous said...

Oh, it looks delicious Archana! Love soba and sesame. Thanks for the recipe :)

Menu Today said...

Hi Archana,
Simply superb!!!!! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I haven't even heard of soba noodles..Have to look for it on my next grocery shopping..And the photo is very tempting..

wheresmymind said...

I'm hit or miss on the soba...sometimes it can be a bit too 'slimey' for moi

Krithika said...

Is it co-incidence or what !! Just last night I was watching Iron Chef where Buckwheat noodles were featured. It is on my to-buy list now after seeing your post. Lovely presentation.

Anonymous said...

you just have amazing eyes for pictures. Absolutely stunning! I have no other words to comment on it. Those shrimps looks like soulmates :)

Nidhi said...

What should I say...amazing, awesome, incredible etc.,etc..... How do you take so nice pics, even though I don't eat shrimp, but after seeing your pic, I m tempted to try it.

Very nice...

Thanks.

Ashwini said...

Archana wanted to let you know I tried your fish in banana leaf and it was great.
I usually steam fish in banana leaves but our masala is different so thought I'd give this a try. We loved it.

Anonymous said...

Did you make the sesame paste from scratch or store bought. And the peanut sauce - is it available in the Asian food aisle?

Lakshmi said...

a different recipe, going to give it a try. nice one Archana .

Sumitha said...

Archana I was not surprised to see the amazing new recipes in your blog.This noodles is new to me but the pictures makes it look so appealing.

Anonymous said...

how many servings is this recipe for?

Mandira said...

archana - the soba noodles with sesame shrimp sounds amazing. going to make it for the weekend!

Unknown said...

Archana,
We do love cold cold soba noodles especially in sultry old bombay weather...i also like ginger and sesame, which means I must try your recipe soon, I have a few bunches of soba left that I smuggled from US a while ago :)

Anonymous said...

Yummy! Looks fantastic!

archana said...

RP
Thanks a bunch Arrpee.

Shaheen
Don’t we all ? I bought soba from an Asian store, but you might find it in some regular grocery shops as well.


Arundati Rao
Thank you for your kind words and welcome to Spicyana. Cold and ainy days and comfort foods are made for each other.

Hi Rg
I bought all the stuff for this recipe from an Asian market. I think you might find Soba noodles in Kroger, but not sure about mirin. Thank you for letting me know about your mango mousse results, I am so happy that everyone liked it.

Foodie's Hope
Thanks Asha, hope you likes it.


Gattina
Wow, that rhymes!! Thank you friend, I prefer a hot noodle bowl too.

Meena
Thank you Meena. Please do share your special Maggi twists.


Monisha
Thank you. That is exactly what I feel nowadays.


Nabeela
Thanks you.


Starry nights
Thank you. All ingredients are available in the Asian store, hope you likes it.


Kelly
Thant’s fast, thanks Kelly.


Vani ,Jayshree, Linda, Annita, Menu Today
Thank you friends.



wheresmymind
I too feel it as a bit “slimey” in a noodle salad, but not so in a hot noodle bowl.

Krithika
You are destined to cook Soba noodles sometime soon, and it is confirmed now!! Thank you.

Anonymous
Thank you so much for these nice words.

Nidhi
Thanks a bunch Nidhi, you made my day. Are you really really planning to try it? I am so excited.

Ashwini
Thank you trying it out. Could you please blog about your steamed fish recipe, I love all your seafood recipes.

Gini
I used a store bought sesame paste. You will find peanut sauce in the Asian food section of most of the grocery shops.

My
Thank you.

Sumitha

Welcome back Sumi, we missed you. Can’t wait to read your new posts.

Anonymous
Three.


Mandira
Hope you likes it Mandira. Thank you.


Nandita
Wow, then you are all set to try this, and you know how it tastes too. Fabulous.

Mae
Thank you

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