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peanut sesame soba noodle salad
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VEGETARIAN

Peanut-Sesame Soba Noodle Salad

By Stephen La Rosa

Chilled soba noodles, charred red pepper and crispy-pressed tofu tossed in a peanut-sesame dressing. Cold, punchy, and just as good the next day.

Peanut-Sesame Soba Noodle Salad
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Prep 20 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total 40 minutes
Servings 4
Difficulty
Ingredients

Peanut Sesame Sauce

  • 100 g peanut butter
  • 30 g sesame oil
  • 30 g dark soy sauce
  • 25 g lime juice
  • 20 g palm sugar or honey
  • 15 g ginger grated
  • 45 ml water or reserved red pepper juice

Salad

  • 250 g soba noodles
  • 3 red peppers
  • 1 cucumber sliced into strips
  • 350 g firm silken tofu
  • 1 handful fresh coriander
  • 1 handful fresh mint
  • peanuts crushed and roasted, to finish
  • togarashi to finish
  • black sesame seeds to finish
Instructions

For the Roast Red Peppers

  • Preheat your oven's broiler to its highest setting. Place the peppers on a baking tray on the top shelf, just under the broiler.
  • Broil 5 minutes, until the surface chars, then rotate. Repeat for 15-20 minutes total, until well charred and blistered all over.
  • Transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool 5 minutes. Scrape off the charred skin and remove the seeds, saving any liquid the peppers release in the bowl. Slice into strips.

For the Tofu

  • Wrap the tofu in two layers of kitchen paper on a tray. Set something heavy, like a small frying pan, on top and let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to firm up and drain excess moisture.
  • Cut into 1cm cubes and set aside.

For the Soba

  • Boil the soba noodles 4-5 minutes, or per the packet instructions. Drain immediately and plunge into ice water for 2-3 minutes, until completely cool. Strain and set aside.

For the Sauce

  • Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Loosen with a couple of tablespoons of the reserved red pepper liquid or water.
  • Toss a few tablespoons of the sauce with the tofu to coat, and let it marinate while you finish the rest.

To Finish

  • Pick the herb leaves and slice the cucumber into matchsticks.
  • Toss the noodles, red pepper and cucumber with the remaining sauce until well coated. Gently fold in the tofu and a few large handfuls of herbs.
  • Top with more herbs, crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, and togarashi or sliced chilli for heat.
  • Serve straight away, or let it sit for a bit if you want the flavours to settle in further.
Equipment
  • Chef's Knife
  • Chopping board
  • Small tray
  • Tongs
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Sieve
Recipe Notes
Pressing the tofu under a weight for 20 minutes firms it up and stops it from watering down the sauce, don't skip it if you want a cleaner texture. Save any liquid that leeches out of the roasted peppers, it's free flavour for loosening the sauce instead of using plain water. Keeps well in the fridge for a day or two, the noodles just soften slightly as they sit.
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From the Chef

Pressing the tofu under a weight for 20 minutes does more work than you’d think, it firms the texture and pulls out the moisture that would otherwise water down your sauce. Don’t throw out the liquid that drips off the roasted peppers either, it’s already seasoned and makes a better sauce-loosener than plain water. This one only gets better with a little time in the fridge, the noodles soften slightly but the flavours settle in properly.

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