Name: Soba Noodles Salad With Peanut Butter Dressing
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: For the salad:; 120 grams dried soba noodles (1 bundle noodles); 1 red pepper, destemmed, seeded, cut into matchsticks; 1 medium Persian cucumber, trimmed, cut into matchsticks; 1 small carrot, trimmed, peeled, cut into matchsticks; 1 cup baked tofu, cut into ½-inch pieces; ¼ cup Italian parsley, leaves only, chopped; 1 tablespoon sesame seeds; Handful of peanuts; For the Peanut Butter Dressing:; ¼ cup creamy peanut butter; 3 tablespoons water; 2 garlic cloves, peeled, minced; 2 tablespoons soy sauce (tamari or nama shoyu); 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon sesame oil (regular or toasted); 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey; ¼ teaspoon dried ginger; ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes; ¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice

So there’s salads, and then there’s salad dressings, and then there’s this exact salad with this exact salad dressing.

Cold soba noodles got together with crunchy vegetables and baked tofu, and dressed themselves in tricked up peanut butter.

This is what goes in:

flatlay of soba noodle salad ingredients: baked tofu, parsley, carrots, soba, red pepper, peanuts, and cucumber

But if you’re like “Hold the tofu!”, you can use other things:

steamed tempeh
shredded nappa cabbage
sautéed shiitake mushrooms
bean sprouts
udon noodles

The noodles are a total breeze to deal with.

Cooked in about 5–6 minutes. Then drain, rinse and add to the bowl.

dry soba noodles in a packet; soba noodles getting boiled in a small saucepan, drained soba noodles in a sieve — Soba noodles from dry to cooked and cold

Frankly though, this salad is about the irresistible dressing, which I kind of want to eat on its own.

And I do. Hey, sticky index finger!

I played with creamy peanut butter, Asian spices, and a bunch of other ingredients, and I kept calibrating until I had a perfectly balanced mixture of salty, sweet and spicy.

It might seem silly to buy Chinese five spice—typically a blend of equal parts ground anise, star anise, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon—if you’re going to use only a quarter of a teaspoon, but it adds a warm, pungent taste to the dressing.

Bottom line: Go drop the $ 5.85 for the Chinese five spice, no excuses!

And if you want more salad recipes, take a look at these:

Raw, vegan, with another, totally addictive dressing: Kelp Noodles Salad With Almond-Tahini Dressing
Raw & sprouted: Raw Sprouted Lentil Chili
Chopped with tiny eggs: Chopped Salad With Quail Eggs

Your turn.

How do you feel about peanut butter in general? Love it or hate it?

Tell me in the comments.

Soba Noodles Salad With Peanut Butter Dressing

Author: Michal Martinek
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: Serves 2; yields about 3/4 cup salad dressing 1x

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

For the salad:
120 grams dried soba noodles (1 bundle noodles)
1 red pepper, destemmed, seeded, cut into matchsticks
1 medium Persian cucumber, trimmed, cut into matchsticks
1 small carrot, trimmed, peeled, cut into matchsticks
1 cup baked tofu, cut into ½-inch pieces
¼ cup Italian parsley, leaves only, chopped
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Handful of peanuts
For the Peanut Butter Dressing:
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons water
2 garlic cloves, peeled, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce (tamari or nama shoyu)
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil (regular or toasted)
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
¼ teaspoon dried ginger
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice

Instructions

Pour 6 cups of water into a medium pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the soba noodles, stir, and lower the heat to medium. Cook until al dente, about 6 minutes.
Drain the noodles in a sieve and rinse under cold running water.
Divide the noodles, peppers, cucumber, carrot and tofu in half and arrange next to each other in a circle on a serving plate.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until creamy. Add an additional tablespoon of water if the dressing is too thick. Add salt to taste.
Sprinkle the salad with the parsley, sesame seeds and peanuts, and drizzle with the dressing to taste.
The dressing will last for up to 7 days in the fridge.

Notes

You can boil the noodles ahead and store them in the fridge. They will get sticky, so place them in a bowl with cold water, stir around with your fingers to separate them, and drain.
The recipe doubles easily.

Soba Noodles Salad With Peanut Butter Dressing