Recipe | Chilled Soba Noodle Salad with Creamy Sambal Dressing

Every salad rotation needs a solid cold-noodle dish. A big bowl of chilled buckwheat noodles tossed with raw veggies, toasted nuts and coriander, then draped in a creamy, spicy Southeast Asian–inspired dressing is so fresh and satisfying. It’s the perfect salad for making in the evening and packing up for lunch the next day.

Vegan
Serves 3
35 minutes

Roasted Vegetables

100g soba noodles

1 large red pepper/capsicum, thinly sliced

2 medium carrots, peeled and julienned

1/2 small head red cabbage, finely shredded

60ml Creamy Sambal Dressing (recipe below)

2 tablespoons crushed peanuts or almonds, toasted in a dry pan until fragrant

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander leaves

1 teaspoon black sesame seeds

Method

Cook the soba noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a large bowl, toss the noodles with the red pepper, carrot and cabbage. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss again to coat.

Serve sprinkled with the peanuts, coriander and sesame seeds.

Creamy Sambal Dressing

Vegan
Makes about 240ml
10minutes

110g unsweetened almond butter

60ml soy sauce

60ml fresh lime juice (2–3 limes)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1 teaspoon sambal oelek

Method

In a blender, combine the almond butter, 60ml water, the soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil, agave and sambal and blend until smooth. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Note

You could sauté the vegetables and make this a warm noodle dish instead.

More recipes to try:

Radhi Devlukia-Shetty’s Everything Packed Salad

Classic pasta salad by Radhi Devlukia-Shetty