jadesfood
Are you looking for a recipe that is Japanese, healthy, and still delicious? Then, you have come to the right place to find it! This soba noodle dish consists of cold soba noodles topped with onion tomato sauce and crumbled feta cheese. Soba noodles have been my absolute favourite of all time, they are usually served cold with a traditional dipping sauce. However, there are a variety of ways to eat noodles nowadays, I have tried a lot of different kinds of soba recipes. So, I thought that it would taste great to eat them with tomato sauce and feta which is not a very common type of cheese in Japan. The result is amazing! Tomato and feta are already best friends, and Soba has just joined them.
What are soba noodles?
Soba is a traditional Japanese noodle that is usually made from buckwheat flour and wheat flour. The flavour of the noodles varies depending on the ratio of buckwheat and wheat flour. The more buckwheat added the more nutty flavour comes through when you eat them. In Japan, the noodles are usually served either cold with a dipping sauce or hot in a noodle soup, but they can also be served with pasta sauce or ramen soup, the possibilities of the flavours are endless! Soba noodles are great for your health too, they are high in protein (14g per 100g of dried noodles), and also high in “rutin” which prevents blood clots and lowers cholesterol.
Ingredients You Will Need
Soba noodles – I use dried noodles for this recipe, but you can make it with fresh ones if you can find them.
Canned tomatoes – I usually use canned tomatoes for this recipe except when they are in season, but you can use fresh ones all year round if you like.
Feta cheese – Feta cheese adds a creamy texture and extra flavour to the dish, but you can use other types of cheese you prefer, or just skip the cheese to make it vegan.
Onion – If you want your sauce smooth, you can skip onion, but I want some sweetness ond flavour from onion to my tomato sauce.
Garlic – Garlic will make your tomato sauce more flavourful and distinct, but you can omit it if you really don’t like the garlic flavour.
Salt & Pepper – To add the proper amount of salt and pepper to your sauce is so important. Bland sauce and too salty sauce ruin the whole dish recommend using sea salt rather than table salt because it contains minerals and can pull more flavour out.
Olive oil – Olive oil is kind of essential to make tomato sauce. Extra virgin olive oil is best for cooking, I wouldn’t use other grades of oil.
Green onion – This is optional, but I like to add a bit of colour to the dish. You can use other fresh green leaves such as parsley and basil.
Tips for making Cold Soba Noodles
Use plenty of water to cook your noodles
Cooking soba noodles in little water causes the temperature of the boiling water to drop drastically. You should boil 3 litres of water per 200g of dried soba noodles.
Bring the water to a full boil
It is very important to cook your noodles with full boiling water because if you boil your noodles, the noodles will be claggy and sticky.
Rinse the cooked needles
Rinsing noodles might sound weird, but Japanese noodles need to be rinsed under running cold water. Rub the cooked noodles softly with your hands until the noodles become cold. Make sure to shake the colander to drain the excess water.
Q & A
Can I make this recipe vegan?
Yes, you can make the dish vegan by making it without feta cheese, or you can use vegan cheese.
Can I use other types of noodles?
Yes! The combination of tomato and feta is great with any type of noodles. If you want to use Japanese noodles apart from soba, udon is the best substitution.
Can I use other types of cheese?
Yes, I think parmesan, pecorino romano, and mozzarella are great with the noodles.
More Japanese Recipes
Deep Fried Lotus Root (Renkon Kraage)
Vegan Tofu Japanese Savoury Pancake (Vegan Okonomiyaki)
Vegan Deep Fried Tofu with Sweet Miso Sauce and Peanuts (Miso Peanut Karaage)
Cold Soba Noodles with Tomato Sauce and Feta (Vegan)
Equipment
- 1 Large Pot
- 1 colander
- 1 Frying pan
Ingredients
- 200 g Dried Soba Noodles
- 200 g Canned Tomatoes or 2 tomatoes chopped into pieces
- 1 clove Garlic chopped into tiny pieces
- ½ Onion chopped into small pieces
- ½ tsp Salt
- some Black Pepper
- some Olive Oil for frying
- 100 ml Water
- 50 g Feta Cheese
- some Green Onion or chopped Chives
Instructions
- Pour some olive oil into a frying pan and add chopped onion. Turn the stove on medium-low heat and saute for a couple of minutes before adding the garlic. Add the canned tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, then add 100 mil water and continue cooking for about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Fill a large pot with a lot of water (3L per 200g noodles) and bring it to a boil. Add the soba and cook according to packet instructions. Once the soba is done, drain the noodles with a colander and rinse them under running cold water. Rub the noodles softly with your hands in the colander while rinsing. Drain the excess water thoroughly by shaking the colander.
- To serve, divide the noodles into 2 plates and put the tomato sauce on. Crumble the feta cheese on top of each plate and finish with sprinkling chopped green onion.
