Soba Noodles or buckwheat pasta have a few characteristics that not every ordinary pasta has;
- They are gluten free (make sure that it is, as there are brands that have other grains added to their dough mix to mask some of the buckwheat flavor.
- They are flavorful
- They are colorful
- They cook fast (which may be a disadvantage if you forget the check the cooking time and they end up mushy 🙂
More and more, less traditional grains are used to create pasta, but soba noodles are around for a long time and most of the time you’ll find them in the Asian section of the grocery store. Consequently, most of us, incl. me, think Asian when we cook with soba noodles. Look at me, I even used a napkin with Asian-type characters. I have no idea what these characters represent and I certainly hope, I did not offend anybody.
This recipe of Soba Noodles with Vegetables in Peanut Sauce is a great example of using various cooking times and ingredients to obtain a variety of textures. Raw carrot shavings, al dente noodles, red bell pepper, asparagus and green beans or snow peas, or sugar snaps, all mixed with a peanut butter sauce to add a silkiness. Sprinkled with raw green onions and if you like sprinkle with pieces of peanut.
This pasta/noodle dish can easily be eaten cold or lukewarm. That’s the beauty of a peanut sauce; we are used to eat peanut butter cold. It would be a nice alternative to a pasta salad and great for a lunch that you can bring to the office.
Soba Noodles with Vegetables and Peanut Sauce
Pin Recipe FacebookIngredients
- 3 ounces soba noodles
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup carrots, cut into thin shavings
- 3 ounces green beans, or sugar snaps or snow peas
- 3 ounces green asparagus
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 garlic, minced
- 1 tteaspoon ginger, minced
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- salt and pepper
- spring onion, optional
Instructions
- Clean the carrtos and shave them lengthwise into thin slivers, using a vegetable peeler. Trim the green beans, sugar snaps or snow peas. Cut the bell pepper in quarters lengthwise and then in thin strips. Cut the asparagus in 2 inch pieces.
- Heat the vegetable poi in a skillet and add the minced ginger and garlic and saute for a few second until fragrant. Add bell pepper strips and green beans and saute for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Combine peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar and vegetable broth and salt and pepper in a saucepan and heat slowly, while stirring. Simmer a few minutes until smooth and it will also starts to thicken, keep warm.
- Cook soba noodles according to directions on the packaging. Drain and keep some of the cooking water.
- Combine carrot shavings, peanut sauce, vegetables and soba noodles and mix well. Add some cooking water if needed and add salt and pepper to taste. Divide over 2 plates and sprinkle with spring onions (optional) and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.