Asian soba noodle salad with soy dressing is a flavor-packed dish. Bold soy citrus flavors infuse into crunchy vegetables and nutty buckwheat noodles.
When I think of Asian noodles, a hot steamy bowl of pho always comes to mind. However, summertime calls for a cool and refreshing noodle salad to satisfy your taste buds. An Asian soba noodle salad with soy dressing is just what you need.
A healthy, light and delicious meal packed with fresh vegetables! Trust me, you NEED this, and you will be happy you spent 30 minutes or less chopping up a storm in the kitchen for this blissful dish.
I’ve been eating a lot of noodles lately and have been trying to make healthier meals. I wanted to infuse Japanese flavors into each bite and found that Soba noodles would be an excellent choice.
Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour that gives a more nutty flavor, a good alternative to egg-based pasta noodles. It also only takes less than 5 minutes for the noodles to cook, so they are ready to consume right away.
Savory and sweet dressings give a nice spin to your typical tangy recipes. This soy salad dressing gets some strong, bold flavors from a mixture of fresh limes, sweet orange juice, salty soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and pungent rice vinegar.
I added a little bit of spicy Sriracha to the dressing. I love a little bit of slow creep of heat but not so much that it’s too overpowering.
I did my best to pack in as much colorful, crunchy and healthy vegetables that I could into this soba noodle salad. Edamame beans, sugar, snap peas, bell pepper, cucumbers, carrots, red cabbage, such a beautiful mix of vegetables. Each veggie adds its own unique flavor and texture. The more colors you can eat the increased variety of nutrients you get, sounds good right?
This salad is a beautiful feast for the eyes that is fast and simple to make. The noodles are ready in a matter of minutes, and you can chop, whisk and top everything together with ease. I took some leftovers to work the next day, and the soba noodles had soaked up the soy dressing and still tasted yummy!
Hello gorgeous noodles, I can’t wait to make you disappear, nom nom nom. This Asian soba noodle salad with soy dressing is an excellent side dish to go with some honey-lime glazed salmon or sesame-crusted ahi tuna. You can also add some grilled or roasted chicken, shrimp, tofu or chopped for a more protein-packed entree. This recipe is versatile so add any vegetables, meat or seafood you like!
What are Soba Noodles?
Soba noodles are thin, dried, and light Japanese brown noodles made with buckwheat flour. They have a nice subtle nutty flavor but are delicate and tender. They hold up well to heavier dressing like the citrus soy dressing in this recipe. They are most commonly used in stir-fries, hot soups, and cold dishes. You can get them gluten-free, but just make sure the ingredient label does not contain flour.
Soba Noodle Salad With Soy Dressing
Ingredients
Soba Noodle Salad
- 6 ounces soba noodles
- 1 cup carrots, shredded
- 1 cup edamame beans, shelled and cooked
- 1 cup red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup english cucumber, thinly sliced, seeds removed
- ½ cup sugar snap peas, cut in half diagonally
- ½ cup red cabbage, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup green onions, thinly sliced on a bias
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
- ⅓ cup cilantro, fresh
- black pepper, as needed
Soy Dressing
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- zest of 1 lime
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons sriracha, or to your spicy level liking
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil, or olive oil
Instructions
- In a large pot, fill with enough water to cover the pasta once added and bring to a boil. Cook the soba noodles according to the manufacturer's instructions, about 4 minutes.
- Drain and transfer noodles immediately into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain the cooled noodles and lightly dry on a paper towel.
- In a large bowl, combine soba noodles and all of the cut vegetables and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together all of the soy dressing ingredients except for the sesame oil and grapeseed oil.
- Gradually add the sesame oil and whisk until combined. Then slowly add the grapeseed oil and whisk until combined into an emulsified dressing.
- Pour dressing over the soba salad and add sesame seeds and cilantro, toss to combine.
Equipment
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Tried this recipe?
Tag @jessica_gavin on Instagram. I'd love to see how it turns out!
carey says
Hi,
how far in advance can I make this? If I prepare it one day in advance will the veggies get soggy?
thank you
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Carey- You can cut up all of the veggies and store them in a resealable bag. Cook the noodles and store them in a separate container. I would then toss the dressing with the noodles and veggies right before serving the next day.
kazy says
I am about to prepare this salad today to eat for the following 3 days starting tomorrow. I increased the servings to 6. My experience with cold salads is that they taste much better after being in the fridge overnight so that the flavors can marry. So, I’m not sure separating the ingredients before hand in order to assemble it right before eating will bring out the full potential of this recipe. The vegetables in here are pretty hardy and I think can maintain their fresh crunch, plus along with the noodles should be able to absorb the dressing overnight and not make it soggy. Now I admit this is just my opinion and I can be totally wrong. I will let you know how it turns out.
Jessica Gavin says
I can’t wait to hear what you think about the soba noodle salad for meal prep Kazy. Definitely interested to know if the flavor gets better over time 🙂
Georgina Plent says
We had the salad for left overs the next day and it was absolutely fantastic – my better
Kim says
Hi Jessica, can the veggies in the salad be sauteed instead of raw?
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Kim- That’s a great idea! The only veggies that can’t be sauteed is the romaine lettuce. I would swap that out fro more kale, spinach or thin slices of zucchini.
Helen S says
The dressing recipe turned out great, thank you. And I served my salad at room temperature, with tofu cubes fried in miso paste on top.
Jessica Gavin says
You’re welcome Helen! Wow, the tofu with the miso paste sounds amazing!
Su says
Hi, can the lime be replaced with lemon? As I’m preparing this for dinner and only have lemon in my fridge 😬 Thanks!!
Jessica Gavin says
Yes, however it ay be slightly more tart so add less to begin with and adjust to taste.
Maurice Garros says
This recipe is awesome! I have made it a few times now. I tried the sauce as a marinade for medium-rare steak. I grilled the steak, cut it up into 1/3 inch batons (after resting for 10 minutes) then marinated in the dressing (including the coriander) for 15 minutes prior to serving warm on the old salad. it was great.
Jessica Gavin says
Wow, I am goign to have to try the sauce as a marinade for meat as you suggested. You are a genius!
Kristy says
Absolutely love this recipe. Definite favorite in our house. Usually we serve with crispy skin salmon for dinner and the leftover salad for lunch the next day. So good!
Henrietta says
This recipe is a winner. It has been a bit at parties and my family love it. It’s full of flavour and freshness. I make it without the sriracha as our spice threshold is not very high, but I don’t feel as though it is missing anything. I generally make to accompany salmon with miso and honey marinade and the flavours all work together beautifully. Thank you!
Sowmya says
This is one of my favorite soba noodles recipes. I love this salad as it uses the flavor of orange juice and Sriracha’s unlikely combination – which works fantastic with the nutty soba noodles. Very Asian.
Thanks Jessica.
Izzy says
Made this recipe twice already and I love it! Especially the dressing! It reminds me of my travels through Thailand. Thank you very much 🙂