Cold Soba Noodles Salad Recipe

4.60 from 5 votes

This cold noodles salad is perfect for summers. Super easy to make. Full of umami. Home made Asian Salad Dressing is so good. Great for easy quick lunches, get togethers and work lunch.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Course: Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Asian

Keyword: Asian Salad Dressing, Noodles Salad, Soba Noodles Salad, Soba Nooodles

Servings: Servings

Calories: 85kcal

Author: simplyvegetarian777

Equipment

Measuring Spoons, Measuring Cups, Stirring Spoon,
Chopping board and knife
Instant Pot 6 quart or Mealthy Multipot
Kitchen Colander
Inner Pot
mixing bowl
Salad Tongs
Large Sauce Pan

Ingredients

1 packet or 14 ounce Soba Noodles I used Simply Asia Brand
12 ounce or 2 cups of Asian Salad Bag that has shredded red cabbage, carrots, broccoli, etc. You may thickly shred the vegetables like cabbage, carrots, broccoli, etc. separately for the salad as well. See Notes.
1 medium Cucumber thinly sliced or julienned
5 stocks Green Scallions or Green Onions White & Green part both, chopped thin
1/4 cup Cilantro leaves with stem chopped fine
2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts
2 tbsp Roasted Cashews
5-6 cups Water

Asian Salad Dressing

6 tbsp or 1/3 cup Distilled Vinegar
3 tbsp or 1/3 cup Soy Sauce use light or dark, doesn't matter
4 tbsp or 1/4 cup Honey see notes for sub
2 tbsp Sesame seed oil optional or may use any salad oil which is not strong in flavors
2 tbsp Sesame Seeds, toasted
2 tsp Ginger minced or finely grated
1-2 tbsp Lime Juice
To Taste Salt if needed

Instructions

Always read the whole recipe first then start prepping. Gather the ingredients. ALWAYS READ THE NOTES for tips, storage, substitutes and more options. WATCH THE VIDEO.

Cook the SOBA NOODLES in Instant Pot

I love using my INSTANT POT for all my meal prep. Therefore I cooked my Soba Noodles in Instant Pot . Place the noodles in IP inner pot in a fanned out or criss cross pattern. Add 5-6 cups of water to submerge the noodles in the water. Press the noodles down. Pressure cook on HIGH for 2 minutes and do a QPR.
The back of my soba noodles packet said to cook for 6 minutes on gas top. Normally it is half the time in IP and then QPR. I did 2 minutes to get "al-dente" texture for salad.
After the QPR, open the lid. Take the inner pot to the sink and wash the noodles under the running cold water. Work on the noodles with Salad Tongs while washing. Keep separating them with tongs to wash away the maximum amount of starch from it.
Now transfer in large colander and wash more as needed. Make sure to get rid of as much starch as possible. After that let them cool down completely to the room temperature.

Cook Soba Noodles on GAS TOP option

Follow the instructions as the back of the package to these Soba Noodles in a Large Sauce Pan. After cooking, wash these under the cold running water till all the starch is washed off.

Prepare the Vegetables

Meanwhile the noodles are cooking, work on your vegetables. If you are not using the packaged salad bag, then work on the vegetables. Shred them with a vegetable shredder or cut them thin to match the thickness of the noodles. Slice the cucumbers thin like matchsticks, about 3 inches long. Chop the scallions with white an green both. Finely chop the cilantro. Mix them all and set aside.

Prepare the ASIAN SALAD DRESSING

Take a small mason jar and add Distilled Vinegar, Soy Sauce, Honey, Sesame Oil, Ginger, Sesame Seeds, and Lime Juice to it. Close the lid. Shake shake Shake till all the ingredients incorporate well. Dressing is ready.

MIX IT ALL

Take a large Mixing Bowl. Add cold (room temperature) noodles, chopped up vegetables, and roasted cashews + Roasted Peanuts. Pour the Asian salad dressing generously on top. Toss Toss Toss with Salad Tongs till dressing covers the noodles. You can serve these immediately or refrigerate.

More Vegetarian Asian Recipes

Chopped Asian Salad, Teriyaki Noodles, Air Fryer Tofu in Asian Sauce, General Tso's Meatballs, Garlic Noodles, Dan Dan Noodles and many more.

Instant Pot Asian Recipes

Red Thai Curry, Green Thai Curry, Kung Pao Noodles, Thai Curry Noodles, Tom Yum

Video

Notes

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What else can I use instead of Soba Noodles?

Although the recipe calls for Soba Noodles, but you can use any kind of noodles for this recipe. Even Spaghetti will work so well.

Can I use regular sugar in place of Honey?

Yes absolutely you can. Replace with the same amount of sugar. You can use brown sugar. You can also use agave nectar or a sweetener of your choice.

What can I use to replace Soy Sauce?

You can substitute soy sauce with either Tamari Sauce or Amino Liquids.

What kind of Vinegar is used in the Asian Salad Dressing?

Rice Vinegar is the best choice for this Salad Dressing. Since it is impossible to keep all the ingredients handy, you can easily use DISTILLED VINEGAR for the recipe.

Can I skip the Sesame seed Oil in the recipe?

Yes you can. Sesame seed oil adds nice sheen to the dressing. But you can skip it.

Can I make this Salad ahead of time?

Yes you can. Put the whole salad together and mix it well. Make sure to add enough Salad Dressing to drench it all. Then you can refrigerate it. It will stay good for 1-2 days.

Can I cook the noodles ahead of time for this recipe?

I wouldn't advise that. These noodles become very lumpy after a while even after a lot of washing under the cold water. The best way is to put the whole salad together and refrigerate.

What kind of vegetables to use?

For Asian Salads, cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, scallions and broccoli can be used. I take a shortcut and use pre-made salad bags from the grocery store. Just empty the whole bag in the bowl and done. No cutting needed. But you can use the vegetables of your choice and shred or thinly slice them to use in the salad.

Kitchen Gadgets

Instant Pot or Large Sauce Pan

Chopping board and Knife

Measuring Cups & Spoon

Salad Tongs

Small Dressing Jar

Nutrition