Asian Soba Noodles with Purple Cabbage & Peanuts

While visiting my sister in Edmonton last week I had the pleasure of making a version of this salad. She is now the proud owner of one of my favorite cookbooks, Whitewater Cooks At Home, by Shelley Adams (sorry peeps, not sure if this is available in the States). She wanted to try some recipes together and hadn’t had much of a chance to make anything out of it. This salad was a delightful surprise and one that will grace our table over and over. In fact we’re taking the leftovers with us for a healthy picnic on our way over to Tofino to go whale watching this weekend.

I’ve now made it 2 more times (in less than 10 days!), but I made some changes both times. Don’t get me wrong, the original recipe was delicious, but the salad dressing has a lot of oil and makes almost 2 cups of dressing! We used just over a 1/4 cup leaving us with a ton leftover.  I decreased the oil and substituted this for that, and came up with a recipe that makes just enough dressing for the salad with none left over. I also added the veggies since it was basically just noodles.

I got to have my veggies!

I love the crush of summer veggies all mixed in with the soba noodles. So satisfying.

My favorite part of this meal is knowing that I’m about to devour a big ol’ bowl of health! Within the first bite my taste buds are singing and I know that everything I’m eating is nutritious and feeding my body for long lasting health. I’ll spare you the 8 page long post with all the health benefits of the ingredients I used (because it would be that long), so I linked to all the information at the end of this post for those of you interested.

But who the heck cares if  the food we eat is good for the body if it doesn’t taste very good?

You can try to force yourself to eat something you don’t enjoy for awhile but inevitably its not a long lasting solution.

Of course I would not be sharing it with you if I didn’t think it was delicious, so I hope you’ll give it a try. It makes a HUGE salad which is perfect for any summer bbq or potluck.

Asian Soba Noodle Salad

serves 4-6 people as a meal

• 1 package of buckwheat soba noodles (appx 320 grams)
• 2 green onions
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 6 inch segment of cucumber
• 4 cups chopped purple cabbage or cabbage of choice
• 2 cups grated carrot
• 1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts (cashews or almonds would be nice too)
• 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Make the noodles according to the package directions. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside to drain completely. Finely slice the green onions and cilantro. Cut the cucumber in half and, using a spoon, remove the seeds and discard. Dice the seeded cucumber. In a large bowl add the noodles, onions, cilantro, cucumber, cabbage and carrots. Add the salad dressing and toss until the ingredients and dressing are well incorporated. Garnish with peanuts and sesame seeds.

Dressing

• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Tamari sauce
• 2 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp miso paste
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp chili sauce or lore to taste

Whisk the ingredients together until miso and honey have dissolved. Add to the Soba Noodle Salad.

 

Health benefit and ingredient information

Buckwheat (used to make soba noodles)

Cabbage

Cilantro

Ginger and more ginger

Miso (fermented bean paste)

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I’m sharing this with Monday Mania, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, The Tasty Alternative, What’s Cooking Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday,  Full Plate Thursday, Freaky Friday, and Foodie Friday.