Soba Noodle Maple Tofu Salad Bowl

Soba Noodle Maple Tofu Salad Bowl, a great light dish, full of nutrients and flavors with a variety of textures to tantalize your taste buds.

Soba Noodle Maple Tofu Salad Bowl, a great lunch time meal that is both healthy and delicious, fresh hits with slivered carrots and sunflower sprouts, starchiness from the soba noodles, mixed with the velvety tenderness of some sauteed purple cabbage, the crispiness and sweetness of the tofu, and a dressing that packs a little heat and acidity, making this dish hit on the light lunch parade.

Salad bowls have been one of my favorite meals for a long time. Introduced to it a long time ago when more Asian, Vietnamese and Japanese restaurants popped up. I love the fact that there are some warm components mixed with some fresh ingredients, and a dressing that brings it all together, sweet meeting savory, smooth meeting crunchy, truly a delightful dichotomy. Today we are doing a Japanese inspired salad bowl hosting great organic ingredients, a wonderful firm tofu, and traditional Soba noodles.

Tofu is an acquired taste, one that both Nicoletta and I enjoy, especially when seared making them crispy on the outside and creamy smooth on the inside. For this recipe Nicoletta sauteed the tofu in a wok with coconut oil, light soy sauce, maple syrup, and fried it till all the morsels had that crispness and golden brown color. I have to be honest Nicoletta prepared most of the ingredients in this Soba noodle bowl. During the day while I am at work at my full time job, Nicoletta keeps busy doing  the prep and pictures. When I come home I quickly put it together, whip up a dressing and into the photo room it goes for final shots. She works very hard on our blog and is growing in the realm of photography, staging and creative recipe ideas. I just want to say thank you to you Nicoletta, you are truly a gift to me!

The other ingredients included sauteed purple cabbage, that are done in a wok with some green onion and spices. I used a bit of five spice just to make things a bit more interesting. The purple cabbage picked up at Riverbend Gardens and the sprouts at Sunrise gardens, all located  at the  Old Strathcona Farmers market.

Soba Noodles we bought at T&T market, a place we frequent when looking for Asian ingredients and also to just window shop, amazed at the amount of unique ingredients, some of which I could not pronounce if my life depended on it, lol.

Soba noodles are usually made with buckwheat, hence the name Soba which means "buckwheat" in Japanese. But as time has it, it has become a generic name for noodles, any kind. We used the actual Soba noodles (buckwheat), but this dish is in no way traditional and don't want to disrespect a culture and tradition, by saying it is so. Let's call this a fusion dish made with extreme creativity. One thing to watch with Soba is cooking times respect directions on package and is always the rule for us and pastas, another mantra "al dente" the best way to prepare them.

Assembly is at your discretion, but I like to feature every ingredient and have it seen. The beauty of a dish like this is you can mix and match ingredients as you eat it, trying different flavor combinations to pleasure the palate. I made up a dressing composed of sesame oil, canola oil, sriracha sauce, fish sauce, sugar and light soy, with just a drop of hoisin for good measure. Don't ask me how I come up with these things, they just pop in my head as I am making it, and this dressing turned out well.

I love all the combinations of flavor, all highlighted with the spicy but not too spicy dressing. The carrots crispy and sweet, a great contrast to the sauteed cabbage with its slight pungent flavor soothed by the sauteed green onion. The sunflower shoots nutty, peppery and fresh, and that tofu beautifully crisp and soft in the middle. The hint of maple coming through which is unusually tasteful with the dressing. The Soba, al dente and all the juices running down from all the ingredients into them, gives them so much of a flavor profile. Each bite a fresh tasting and textured  new experience as you choose different ingredients finishing with some noodle. A fun, delightfully healthy and tasty dish that would be enjoyable for lunch or dinner. From our table at Sugarlovespices to yours, Soba Noodle Maple Tofu Salad Bowl.

Enjoy!

Song of the day: " Around the World" by Kings of Leon.

Soba Noodle Maple Tofu Salad Bowl

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• Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

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Tofu:

• 14 ounces firm tofu
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• freshly ground pepper

Noodles:

• 3 ounces soba noodles

Veggies:

• 3 carrots
• 1 bunch of sunflower sprouts
• 1 cup chopped purple cabbage
• 2 green onion chopped

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tsp wasabi mayo
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper

Garnish:

• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• Reserve of fresh chopped green onion

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Instructions

Tofu:

1. Drain the tofu and press out the excess liquid.
2. In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.
3. Chop the tofu into cubes and add them to the hot pan.
4. Saute gently until the edges begin to brown. Add the soy sauce, maple syrup and pepper.
5. Stir and cook for about 8-10 minutes, or until edges are crisp. Set aside to cool.

Noodles:

1. In a medium pot bring 4 quarts of salted water to boil.
2. Cook the soba noodles until al dente, rinse with cold water, and drain.

Veggies:

1. Clean and sliver the carrots,
2. Rinse and dry sunflower sprouts.
3. In a wok add sesame oil and canola oil.
4. Toss in purple cabbage, green onion (save some of the green onion for garnish).
5. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder and Chinese five spice.
6. Saute for 10 minutes and set aside.

Dressing:

1. Blend sesame oil, canola oil, wasabi mayo, sriracha, sauce and hoisin sauce.
2. Add in salt, pepper, sugar and whisk.

Assembly:

1. Place cooked Soba in bottom of bowl.
2. Place individually carrots, sauteed purple cabbage, sunflower sprouts, tofu.
3. Drizzle some of the dressing on top, with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and fresh chopped green onion.
4. Enjoy!

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 servings

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Loreto

When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.