[Japanese Recipes] Green Tea Soba Noodle Salad

This simple Green Tea Soba Noodle Salad encapsulates spring with thinly julienned zucchini & radishes combined with cold soba noodles. Then dressed in a sweet and tangy dipping sauce, and topped with our Japanese Sesame Seasoning (Gomashio) - a blend of toasted sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, Himalayan pink salt, Aleppo chili flakes, and the mineral-rich, wild harvested nori flakes.

My absolute favorite soba (buckwheat) noodle is Cha Soba – soba noodles flavored with green tea leaves, giving them a light greenish hue and that fresh, natural taste of green tea. Cha Soba is generally limited to being served on special occasions in Japan, but with the wide availability now in the US, my special occasion is usually lunch…

If you can’t find Cha Soba, just use the normal soba noodles for this dish. In either case, cook them per the package instructions, then drain under running cold water. 

With the noodles to the side, make the homemade dressing from some of your basic Asian sauces – soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin (optional), and toasted sesame oil. Then a little honey to sweeten it, and lemon juice for a citrus touch. 

As the noodles can absorb the dressing easily and overly soften them, the trick is to serve the dipping sauce separately, only pouring it in and mixing it with the noodles right before eating. 

When the noodles, veggies, and dressing are well combined, garnish the Green Tea Soba Noodle Salad with our crunchy, savory Japanese Sesame Seasoning. Enjoy the dish on its own, or along with a bowl of miso soup or teriyaki salmon.

Green Tea Soba Noodle Salad
by Season with Spice
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
1 package (7oz) of Green tea soba
1 zucchini – julienned
4-5 radishes – thinly sliced
Season with Spice’s Japanese Sesame Seasoning (Gomashio)

Dipping Sauce:
3 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp mirin (optional)
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil, or more
1 squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
2 tsp honey, or to taste

Method:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the water boils, cook the soba noodles according to the package directions. Careful not to overcook. Drain, and quickly rinse under running cold water.
2. In a large salad bowl, gently combine the soba noodles with julienned zucchini and radishes (If not eating today, you can chill the noodle mixture in the refrigerator overnight for lunch tomorrow)
3. Mix together the ingredients for the dipping sauce.
4. Serve the noodle salad with the dipping sauce and Japanese Sesame Seasoning on the side. When ready to eat, just pour in the dressing and mix well, then top with the Japanese Sesame Seasoning. Enjoy!

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Seasonwithspice.com. Thanks so much!