Cold Asian Noodle Salad
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 7 – 10 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Serves: 4
I love a good Chinese buffet. The saltiness of the soy sauce and oyster sauce in the main dishes is addictive.
Making Asian food at home is always a delicious treat. This Cold Asian Noodle Salad… the crunchy veggies, the slightly sweet/slightly salty dressing, toasted nuts and sharp onion all come together in harmony for a yummy lunch, brunch, dinner, or snack.
There is prep work, slicing and dicing, but enjoy the process! It’s part of cooking and not only makes food taste really good, you have a sense of accomplishment that Chinese take-out cannot give you.
Make your own dressing (recipe below) instead of grabbing a store-bought bottle for convenience. The flavor is well-worth your time and money to make this sauce, which is adaptable by the way. Keep a balance of saltiness, sweetness, acidity, etc. as you substitute or omit ingredients. Always taste as you add ingredients to be sure the end result is something you love.
I suggest you do not use dark soy for this recipe, as it will darken the sauce.
Notice there are two different oils listed. You cannot successfully use only one. You must have the toasted sesame oil flavor, but it cannot carry the entire weight of the oil in this recipe or it will be too overwhelmingly sesame-like and take over the other flavors. When you purchase a sesame oil, be sure the label says “toasted.” I LOVE Abingdon Olive Oil Company’s Toasted Sesame Oil. It is the best I have ever purchased.
You can substitute the soba (buckwheat) noodles with Udon or even traditional spaghetti noodles if you want.
Enjoy!
Cold Asian Noodle Salad
Ingredients
Noodles:
- 8 ounces soba noodles, see Notes
- 4 quarts filtered water
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup avocado oil (or other neutral oil)
- 2 - 3 tablespoons orange marmalade
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil, Abingdon Olive Oil Company
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, finely minced or pushed through a garlic press
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, grated on a zester/Microplane
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- Fine sea salt, to taste (probably not much)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Veggies:
- 1 cup carrots, shredded, see Notes
- 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 bell pepper, small-dice, see Notes
- 2 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced/shredded
- 2 cups purple cabbage, thinly sliced/shredded
Topping:
- 1 cup toasted cashews or peanuts
- 1/2 cup green onions, white and green parts, sliced
- 1 tablespoon black and/or white toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Make the Dressing first to allow the flavors to marry while you prep the other ingredients. Combine all the ingredients together. Stir, taste, and adjust any ingredients to your tastes. Set it aside.
- Make the noodles. Bring the water up to a boil. Add the salt. Placing a lid onto the pot of water will bring the water up to a boil a little quicker.
- Cook the noodles according to the package directions, usually 7 to 10 minutes. Rinse in cold water; set aside to drain.
- Toss the prepped vegetables with the cold noodles. Drizzle the desired amount of the Dressing over and toss to combine. Taste and add more as desired.
- Top with nuts, green onions, and sesame seeds as desired.
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