Cold Soba Noodles with Sesame Dipping Sauce
Chilled buckwheat soba noodles served with a nutty sesame-tamari dipping sauce and crisp julienned vegetables.
Zaru soba is a summer staple in Japan for good reason: chilling the noodles right after cooking firms them up and keeps them from turning gummy, and dipping each bite into a cold sauce rather than tossing everything together keeps the noodles from going soft while you eat. It's simple to the point of being almost effortless.
Soba noodles are made from buckwheat, which brings more fiber and a nuttier flavor than a plain wheat noodle, and here they're paired with a sauce built from tahini or sesame paste, tamari, and rice vinegar rather than anything creamy. The whole dish is plant-based, quick to put together, and just as satisfying cold as most noodle dishes are hot.
Rinse the noodles under cold water right after boiling and swish them around — this is the single step that makes the biggest difference to the texture.
Ingredients
- 10 oz dried soba noodles
- 0.25 cup tahini or sesame paste
- 3 tbsp tamari
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 0.25 cup warm water — to thin the sauce
- 1 carrot — julienned
- 1 cucumber — julienned
- 2 scallions — sliced
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds — for garnish
These ingredients are common at South Asian grocers; a well-stocked international supermarket usually carries them too.
Instructions
- 1Cook the soba noodles according to package directions, then drain and rinse thoroughly under cold water until fully cooled.
- 2Whisk the tahini, tamari, rice vinegar, maple syrup, and sesame oil together, thinning with warm water until pourable.
- 3Divide the cold noodles among plates or shallow bowls and top with carrot, cucumber, and scallions.
- 4Serve with the sesame dipping sauce alongside, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.