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SESAME-GINGER CUCUMBER SOBA NOODLE SALAD

top down view of bowl with serving of soba noodle bowl with cucumber and sesame-ginger scallion sauce with chopsticks.

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5 from 11 reviews

Soba Noodle Bowl with cool, refreshing cucumber noodles and 100% buckwheat noodles paired with a sweet and spicy ginger scallion sauce, makes a light and healthy lunch or dinner!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 package (8 or 9 oz.) soba noodles
  • 1 large English cucumber, julienned
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
  • lime wedges

Ginger Scallion Sauce

  • 3/4 cup scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated or minced
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 23 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (unseasoned)
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 12 tablespoons tamari, soy sauce or Namo Shoyu
  • 12 teaspoons red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon sriracha, optional

Instructions

Sauce: In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

Soba noodles: Cook soba noodles according to package. I recommend salting the water well to really bring out the flavor (I would not usually recommend this but if using 100% buckwheat noodles they will benefit from this…at least I think so). Once done, rinse the soba noodles under cool running water to cool them down and stop them from cooking, or they will turn mushy.

Cucumber: In the meantime, prepare your cucumber using a julienne tool. If your cucumber is really long, you can cut it in half before you julienne it if you like. You can also spiralize if you have a spiralizer. Feel free to cut them into 1/4 inch x 1 1/2 inch matchsticks pieces if you don’t have a julienne tool.

Combine: Once noodles are rinsed, return to the pot they cooked in, add the cucumber, cilantro and about 3/4 of the sauce, toss well.

Serve: In a single serving dish, add 1/2 of the noodle mixture, top with 1/2 of the remaining sauce, and salt & pepper to taste. Add as much lime juice as you like. I especially loved the lime and used about 2 juicy ones for myself.

Serve warm or cold.

Serves 3, or 2 generously.

Notes

A serving of cubed tofu pairs well here, adding more protein.

I specify English cucumbers here but 2 – 3 Persian cucumbers will work too. Look for thinner cucumbers as they are the easiest to work with when using a julienne tool.

You can use regular sesame seed oil, but toasted sesame seed oil will yield the most distinct and delicious flavor!

Adjust any ingredient in the sauce to suit your taste.

Oil-Free: Simply omit the oil in the marinade, using extra tamari, rice vinegar or water in its place. It won’t have the same robust toasted sesame flavor, but will still be delicious!

Gluten-Free: For the marinade, stick with tamari, namo shoyu or coconut aminos to keep it GF.

Soba Noodles: You can purchase 100% buckwheat noodles by Eden Buckwheat Noodles or King Soba Noodles from Amazon (affiliate links).