Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad Recipe
A peanut noodle salad recipe featuring soba noodles punctuated with spring onions, tofu, peanuts, and asparagus. Serve it up family-style on a platter at a potluck, party, or buffet - it holds up perfectly at room temp.
I've been trying to cook from the archives a bit lately. There are so many recipes that I'll cook on repeat for months, and then neglect when a new favorite makes an appearance. There are many, many recipes in my life, and to those that get sidelined on occasion, rest assured, I still love you. I dusted off this lazy day peanut noodle salad for lunch yesterday. It's a perfect, colorful bowl of peanut-slathered soba noodles punctuated with spring onions, tofu, more peanuts, and asparagus. A total crowd-pleaser, and makes a great lunch in a jar if you need a new option for work or travel.
When I initially wrote the recipe, I mentioned how when the San Francisco skies are clear, bright, and blue I like to pop into Greens Restaurant where in addition to table service, they have a robust take-out menu. I usually grab a tofu sandwich on seeded bread, a side of their famous black bean chili and then walk the short distance to a nearby picnic bench where I enjoy the sailboats, seagulls, and sunshine. As I was reaching for my sandwich I noticed a stack of containers packed with peanut-slathered noodles. It had been ages since I'd enjoyed a good peanut noodle salad, so I decided to throw one together myself. I apparently couldn't be bothered to walk to the store for ingredients (hence the lazy title), and tapped my pantry for inspiration.
This makes a big chunky batch of peanut noodle salad. Serve it up family-style on a platter at a potluck, party, or buffet - it holds up nicely at room temp.
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Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad Recipe
I used asparagus in this version, but you can use any of your favorite in-season vegetables. This time of year peas, asparagus, and carrots all make great additions to the noodles and peanut sauce.
1 8 ounce package soba noodles
1 bunch asparagus spears, ends trimmed then cut into 1/2-inch segments3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 cup hot water1 small bunch of spring onions or scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup peanuts
12 ounces extra-firm (organic) tofu, cut into small cubes (feel free to heat the tofu in a skillet if you like, but cold is good too)herb flowers, optional
Big a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the soba noodles per package instructions.In the last minute or so of cooking toss in the asparagus. Drain noodles and asparagus, run under cold water for about a minute to stop cooking, and set aside.
Make the peanut dressing by combining the peanut butter, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and a big pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Thin with hot water - the amount you'll need depends on the original consistency of your peanut butter. I like it the consistency of a thin (non-Greek) yogurt. Taste and season with a bit more salt if needed.
Gently toss the noodles, asparagus, spring onions, peanuts, and tofu with a big splash of the dressing. I reserve a bit of each ingredient to sprinkle on top of the serving platter to make it look nice. Add more dressing a bit at a time, until the salad is dressed to your liking, reserving any extra for another use. Taste, sprinkle with more salt (if needed), and a few herb flowers if you have them on hand, and enjoy!
Serves 6 - 8.
Prep time: 7 minutes - Cook time: 10 minutes
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Comments
Mmmm, this is right up my alley. Peanut butter with tons of veggies and some noodles. This sounds great cold, but if you cook it all a bit longer, I bet it's a great stir-fry! I need to get workin on a stir-fry peanut butter sauce! - The Peanut Butter Boy
YUM!!
YUM!!
I love tofu and I'm always looking for inspiration for a new dish. Struck gold with this one! Can't wait to try it. It screams SPRING!
Lucky you being able to just "pop" into Greens. When I was with my vegetarian Ex, we would make the trip from LA to SF a few times a year and we always made a reservation at Greens. We never did do the take-out though. Their tassahara bread is so good!!
sounds delicious! wish I knew where to buy soba noodles now that I'm in central Florida....there seem to be no Asian markets close by.... Is the tofu marinated? What makes it brown on the outside edges? Also, what onions are in the picture--looks like shallots more than scallions?
The link to the Daily Telegraph article is: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2008/03/30/sv_101websites.xml Sorry, I forgot to add it to my first comment. Chris
Heidi's site named in 101 most useful websites by the Daily Telegraph in England: 74 101 Cookbooks www.101cookbooks.com Enchanting recipe and foodie blog from a Californian cook who believes in good food. Subscribe to the email alert service and transform your cooking repertoire.
Be careful who your seatmates are...peanut allergies can be life-threatening.
I love to have peanut noodles when I'm feeling lazy on the weekends. However, this recipe seems much more healthy than mine. I can't wait to try it!
Sounds fabulous!! Court - I've bought brown rice vinegar at Whole Foods, as well as a local health food store. Eden Organic is a good brand to look for. They also have it on their website http://www.edenfoods.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=109170
I just stumbled upon your site, and being a VERY inexperienced chef, this looks like something I will try! It looks delicious!
Love this lunch!! You've inspired me once again!
My daughter is allergic to peanuts so I have gotten into buying all types of other nut butters. I just whipped up the recipe with cashew butter and chopped cashews and it was very yummy. Thank you for such a great - spontaneous lunch!
This is so weird - I had a craving for exactly this kind of salad with soba noodles and then magically, right on time, your recipe appears! Thanks!
You're so lucky to live near the Greens Restaurant, Heidi! This looks like a very traditional recipe, but it's hard to go wrong with these ingredients! And here in the Midwest, it's nearing fresh asparagus time. I'm hoping to come by some local, fresh, white asparagus for making this salad -- I love the visual appeal and the relative unusual-ness of it.
is that smoked tofu? it looks like smoked tofu. i love that stuff!
This salad sounds tasty and refreshing. I really enjoy cold soba noodle salads ans the use of the peanut butter send this one over the top.
This looks wonderful! I am adding this to my menu plan for this week. Thanks!
Ohhhh. I love this recipe, I follow the Seignalet diet, and it´s compatible with it (the soba noodles are made of buckwheat flour). Thanks for sharing.
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