For this blog, i made Soba Noodle Salad, which is a nice, light pasta dish that utilizes a lot of very unique ingredients. For example, ingredients such as tahini and tamari are used in this dish, which is what makes it so unique. This dish was super easy to make, and can be made ahead of time, because "The soba salad can be served warm or cold, making it a great option for any season." Says Angela Liddon.The first step is to make the tofu for the dish, which requires some before hand prepping. There are a few steps when preparing tofu, which includes pressing the tofu with heavy books so that all the moisture is let out. After that was done for at least 30 minuets, it is ready to be cooked. The recipe from the book recommended a few different options for how to season the tofu, so i decided to keep it simple, and put garlic and onion powder on mine. You then fry the tofu in a pan for 5 minuets on each side. I have never done this before, however this seems like the best method to cook tofu.
While the tofu is cooking, you can start cutting up the vegetables and start to boil water for the soba noodles. Some of the fresh ingredients that go into this dish are red and yellow bell pepper, green onions, cilantro, and lime juice. The author of the cook book says "Its light and energizing, but the fiber-rich soba noodles and crispy tofu give it plenty of protein and staying power". After all of the ingredients are prepped and prepared, you can add them all to one bowl and mix it together. For the dressing, There was sesame oil, rice vinegar, tahini, maple syrup, tamari, and garlic. All of these flavors combined and made a wonderful dressing. However, the most prominent flavor in the salad was sesame, because there was sesame oil, and tahini, which is sesame seed butter.
Once it was all mixed together, the final product was bursting with colors and flavor. It had a very light and refreshing flavor, which would be perfect for the summertime. I really enjoyed this recipe, and i would definitely make it again. The only thing that i would change is to substitute the tahini for peanut butter, because it is easier to access and i personally think has a better flavor. Have you ever tried tofu, and if you have, have you ever made it yourself?Liddon, Angela. Oh She Glows Every Day. Avery, 2016.
Hi Kaitlyn. I personally love soba noodles and that recipe looks great! I love the idea to add peanut butter. I would love to try this dish. It looks easy and yummy. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lauren! I also love this recipe, and i think that the peanut butter would add a wonderful flavor! if you decide to try it out sometime, i hope that you will love it as much as i did!
ReplyDeleteDear Kaitlyn,
ReplyDeleteI would like to try this recipe for myself, but some of the ingredients are ones I have never heard of before, like tahini and tamari. Can I find these ingredients in a common store like Safeway or should I go to a store with a certain style of cuisine, such as Uwajimaya?
Thanks, Alexis
Hi Alexis! I too had never heard of those ingredients before, and i didn't know where i would be able to find them. I first went to fredmeyer, and they actually had both the tahini and tamari. I would assume that they would have them at Safeway as well. Although these ingredients seem really unique and complicated, they are actually very simple, and are used in a lot of vegan recipes!
DeleteHi Kaitlyn,
ReplyDeleteI have had tofu before and it's one of my FAVORITE foods to eat. The recipe you made sounds delicious and I would love to taste it one of these days! Good job on your post, it was interesting to read!
Thank you Aaron for the positive feedback! This tofu was actually really good, and i think that you would enjoy it too! i would highly recommend this dish, especially if you love tofu.
DeleteHey Kaitlyn! This dish sounds super tasty.
ReplyDeleteI love tofu, because of its versatility. I haven't tried tofu cold before, since it is more soft in texture I'd assume it might become rubbery after frying and cooling. Did you eat the soba noodle salad cold or hot when you first cooked it? Do you think the flavor could have changed if the dish was eaten cold?
Hello Fahimah!
DeleteI ended up eating the salad cold because the noodles sat out for a while, and all of the other ingredients were prepared cold. Personally i like dishes like these cold, and i don't think that it changed the flavor of the overall taste and texture. However, i did not let the tofu completely cool, and i added it in right away, and the tofu was still warm when i ate it. I hope that helped!