Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Healthy weeknight dinner

Lately I have become obsessed with Japanese Soba noodles. They are lighter than their Italian counterparts and taste great with almost anything I have in the fridge. They also take about 3 minutes to cook (as opposed to rice, which can take 45 minutes). I have been trying to eat less meat after reading about the environmental and health benefits of vegetarianism, which means I have been experimenting with tofu, edamame, and other sources of protein.

If you have the chance, try this amazing recipe for Otsu, found on the blog Dinner with Julie and spotted on Tastespotting. I have modified it only slightly. To be honest, I could probably eat this every night...

Dressing:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
a swirl of sriracha sauce

Salad:
1/3 package dried soba (buckwheat noodles), or more if desired
1 cucumber, halved and sliced
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 package firm tofu, pressed
a handful of baby spinach
canola oil for cooking

To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together. You may marinate the tofu in the sauce, but I didn't and it tasted great anyway. If you want to press the tofu (wrap it in paper towels and squeeze out the extra liquid) do this after it marinades.

Cook the noodles according to the package, then run them under cold water to cool them down. Add cucumber, onion, spinach and half of the sauce. Mix.

After you have pressed the excess liquid out of the tofu, cut it into 1'' squares. Heat and drizzle oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add tofu and brown on all sides. Add crispy tofu to the salad. Top with the rest of the dressing. Enjoy! (serves 2-4).

Image from the blog, Just Hungry. Visit her site to find more information about soba noodles.

2 comments:

  1. I love soba noodles! My favorite soba dish is cold soba with tahini sauce at Souen in New York City - check it out next time you visit! :)

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  2. Yum! Looks healthy and delish. I never buy soba, and why not? I have no excuse. I noticed "a swirl of sriracha sauce" in your recipe and we all know that everything is better w/ rooster sauce. So it seems I'll be giving this recipe a go. Thanks.

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