Carrot Cucumber Soba Noodle Salad 

What is better then a cold noodle salad on a hot summer day? In this salad there are vegetables cut into noodle like shapes to add more flavor and texture, and also to lower the caloric density of the dish, so you can go ahead and have a good sized bowl! I learned a few lessons from making this dish. 1, to use a large pot to cook the soba in as my noodles got all cut up into 1 inch sections by the time they were drained. They were still delicious, but just not the look I initially had in mind. The second lesson is to always be innovated, creative and on my toes when preping produce! Instead of using a vegetable noodle maker like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Zoodle-Slicer-ZS001-Vegetable-Spiral/dp/B00M6I6MG0 as I was originally plaining on, I needed to slice the produce by hand after I found the carrots and cucumber did not fit in the appliance. I recommend saving the carrot ends as they are great for making home made vegetable broth.

It's beast to eat this dish within 3-4 days otherwise it starts to get glommy and starchy

Ingredients:

1 package (or 4 servings worth) buckwheat soba noodles 

3 medium carrots 

1 medium cucumber 

1 Tablespoon soy sauce 

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar  

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil 

Ginger powder 

Garlic powder 

Touch sugar 

Method: 

1—Prepare soba noodles according to instructions on package. Put cooled noodles in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

2—Wash produce. Peal and cut out seeds from cucumber (cucumbers will very) and chop off hard ends of carrots. Either slice into noodle sized slices by hand or use a mandolin. Cut ends off carrots and mandoline into long strips by taking the whole carrot and sliding it lengthwise down over the mandoline blade. 

3—In a skillet, boil about 1/2 cup water or a small amount of oil. (I like to use as little oil when cooking as I can). Add carrots and cook for about 4 minutes, until they start to soften but are not fully cooked. Add sliced cucumber and cook until everything is cooked through, or soft to your preferences. The idea is to get them a similar texture to the buckwheat noodles. 

4—Cool veggies by running them under cold water in a colander (the same colander used to drain the noodles ideally. Saves time) 

5—Place all ingredients along in the bowl with the noodles and toss to combine. Taste and add more rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, or some sugar. 

6—Serve chilled 

Enjoy! 

Recipe and photos by Kate Mitchell