Japanese Soba Noodles with Toasted Sesame Dressing

V is for Variety and J is for Japanese Soba Noodles

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

Getting sick of all the peanut sauces on every Asian noodle salad? Me, too.  I love those dressings, but I was ready for a change and I think I found it. This was especially great on a super-hot evening. I messed around with a few dressings and ingredients from various places and came up with this beautiful salad. Light and cold and refreshing. Totally satisfying. I will save the peanut butter sauces for winter when I crave something more substantial. No kidding, this was excellent.

Here’s the scoop on this great salad:

Japanese soba noodles (aka buckwheat noodles), cooked according to package. Drain and rinse them.

Grated carrots

6 ounces snow peas, blanched and cut in pieces on the diagonal

½ seedless cucumber, grated and wrung dry in a clean cloth

 Scallions, white and green part, sliced

Firm tofu (optional) (I used Wildwood Teriyaki Tofu), about 6 ounces, cubed

¼ C chopped fresh cilantro

For the dressing, whisk all this together.

¼ C rice vinegar

1 t sugar

1 T fresh ginger, grated

1 T honey

2 T soy sauce

1 T toasted sesame oil

2 t hot chili sauce 

2 T canola oil