Thursday, June 23, 2011

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


34 comments:

  1. No easy to find a good recipe for these noodles, but you seem to have it right here, Thanks.
    Rita

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  2. Now, how did you know that I had some soba noodles in my pantry that I have been waiting for you to tell me what to do with them? :)

    This looks fabulous, Carol! My son is has a serious Asian food addiction so I can now hook him up while he's home.

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  3. Love this dish Carol. It looks healthty and delicious, my kind of dish. I know my family would enjoy something like this.

    Hope you have a great weekend.

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  4. They look and sound so fantastic!

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  5. The dressing for the noodles sounds fantastic! I love all those Asian flavors in a great summertime salad.

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  6. These look great. The peanut butter sold me!

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  7. I don't know what happened to Ms. Picky...you got nuthin' on me!


    In any case, this dish is building a serious craving in me. I like Soba Noodles, but the sweet and sour aspect sounds new and exciting!

    I can only hope some of Ms. Picky's influence will rub off on Mr. Man-pants.

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  8. I still have yet to try cooking with soba noodles. The flavors in this recipe sound wonderful! I really like the addition of the cabbage too. If Miss Picky liked it you know it has to be good :)

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  9. Looks very colorful and I am sure it is going to be very tasty too.

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  10. Ahhh- you just reminded me that I need to get my behind away from the computer & make dinner. Looks delish!

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  11. Anything with peanut butter has to be delicious! I like the crunch of the cabbage + cucumber.
    ~Judy

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  12. What a great noodle dish. I love peanut butter in sauces! Maybe Miss Picky is changing and losing that Picky status? :)

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  13. I love the sound of Aisan hot and sour ..that is my kind of craving!

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  14. I would love to try this, Carol! It would be great with cashews and cashew butter too (instead of peanut butter). I've never tried buckwheat noodles before. I'll have to see if I can find some. :)

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  15. There can't be a better recommendation than Miss Picky! :)
    Really love the flavors in the dressing.

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  16. I need flexibility as I am notorious for leaving out ingredients :)
    My husband loves the sesame noodles at the Asian restaurant that we go to but they always seem oily to me so I am anxious to try these as this recipe seems quite healthy.

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  17. This sounds like a great picnic/cookout side dish. Thanks for the recipe!

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  18. This sounds wonderful. We really sesame oil in our house and with the addition of the other ingredients, I'm sure it will be a winner here. I copied the recipe and hope to try it soon. Thanks for sharing1

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  19. I have soba noodles and didn't really know what to do with them - now I do! thanks so much - delicious
    Mary

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  20. Maybe my Mister Picky will eat it. I LOVE soba noodles and haven't made them yet. So glad I have this recipe now!

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  21. I'm going to make soba noodles just so I can try this new way of cooking them. It makes sense but has never occurred to me to do it this way. Thanks Carol.

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  22. loving all thing noodle..especially soba...I am copying this on as we speak.

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  23. Sounds lovely! I love soba noodles.

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  24. I'd love to make something like that for an entree, but have a hubby who claims he doesn't like cold pasta. Course he never used to like fresh tomatoes and I've been feeding them to him in one form or another for the past month ... many times as an entree ... so maybe it's time to push the cold pasta envelope. ;)

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  25. I am not sure whether we get soba noodles here, but your dish looks very tasty!

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  26. This sounds very delicious, and just my sort of salad.

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  27. Oh yay! I'm glad this worked so well. Red cabbage sounds like a brilliant edition and I'll bet zucchini would work well, too. Now I have to try it!

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  28. You had me at peanut butter as well :)

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  29. No , no tofu! Sounds good, I have never had it.

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  30. Cold soba noodle salads are so great in the summer. This one looks packed full of flavor. Thanks for sharing it at Souper Sundays. ;-)

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  31. I love soba noodles and Martha Rose Shulman -- so you know I have to try this. I almost always have soba noodles in the house and now that I have a great peanut butter substitute, I can make this recipe with no problem.

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  32. This looks like it will be super yummy! I am bookmarking your recipe :)

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  33. that sounds like a good recipe.

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  34. After visiting Cocoron Soba on Delancey Street, we have a fascination with all things soba noodles. This recipe sounds scrumptious. Definitely going to give it a try.

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