Hot and Sour Soba Noodles

I was over at Joy's Book Blog, to leave a comment on her Weekend Cooking post, and she had a great review on a cookbook by Martha Rose Shulman. On occasion I read the Recipes for Health by Martha Rose Shulman at the NY Times site, so when I noticed that Joy mentioned Hot and Sour Soba Noodles on her list to try,  I knew I had to look that one up! And I am so glad I did. It's very easy and uses a different technique to cook the soba noodles from the other recipe for cold soba noodles that I normally use. Soba is pretty easy to overcook when you don't pay attention to things. That's me, there was that time I served a bowl of mush noodles :)

Miss Picky got a little taste while I was making it and then proceeded to eat the dressing by the spoonful. Raved about it. OK, where is my Miss Picky and what did you do with her? She is never that excited by food. I made a few adjustments to the original recipe, more peanut butter, and more soy sauce. And I added some shredded red cabbage and some chopped scallions. And when I made the dressing I completely forgot about the vinegar but it was too late. Next time. I do well with recipes that can tolerate my lack of concentration. This was a great recipe. Next time I might even use fresh zucchini instead of the cucumbers. A bit different from the original noodle recipe that we love, that I posted about here.

Thanks, Joy, for a great review, I'll be adding that book to my collection very soon!

Hot and Sour Soba Noodles
Source: recipe by Martha Rose Shulman, NY Times Recipes for Health and the book, The Very Best of Recipes for Health
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons peanut butter (to taste, I used 3 of the Trader Joe's Creamy Peanut Butter, and nuked it for 20 seconds so it would soften enough to stir in the sauce)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 to 2 teaspoons hot red pepper oil (to taste)
pinch of cayenne
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 pound Japanese buckwheat noodles
1 cup diced or julienned cucumber
1/4 cup shredded red cabbage
2 scallions, white part, sliced very thin rings
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional, I think peanuts would be nice, too!)
Lettuce, baby spinach, radicchio or arugula for serving (optional)

Heat the peanut butter for about 10 to 20 seconds in a microwave to make it easier to mix. Combine with the soy sauce, vinegar, hot red pepper oil, cayenne, garlic, ginger and salt and pepper. Whisk together. Whisk in the sesame oil, canola oil and broth. Set aside.

To cook the noodles, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add salt, if desired, and the noodles. When the water comes back to a boil and bubbles up, add a cup of cold water to the pot. Allow the water to come back to a boil, and add another cup of cold water. Allow the water to come to a boil one more time, and add a third cup of water. When the water comes to a boil again, the noodles should be cooked through. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain and toss immediately with the dressing (whisk the dressing again first). Add the remaining ingredients, and toss together. Taste, adjust seasonings, and serve. I chilled it in the refrigerator before serving.

You can serve this on a bed of lettuce, spinach, arugula, whatever you like and even add shrimp, chicken or tofu to make it a meal. We had it as a side dish. And loved it.

Joining

Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

Souper Sundays (and salads and sandwiches) @ Kahakai Kitchen

 
Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

Tweet