Peanut Soba Noodle Bowl

peanut soba noodle bowl

I’m back! I felt like my brain was running at half speed while I had that head cold. My thoughts seem to be clearing as my symptoms have lifted, but now I’m presented with an overwhelming workload and would rather crawl back under the covers with Cookie. So it goes.

I’m taking a little break to share one of my new favorite, quick meals. It took two tries to get this one right (see the first try here), but my second attempt really hits the spot. Like my other soba noodle recipe, this one is packed with vegetables, which keeps the dish light, while buckwheat soba noodles contribute their whole grain goodness and peanut butter brings in some protein.

This Asian inspired, peanut butter flavored dish is a cinch to throw together. Just boil a pot of water, sauté some veggies, and whisk together some sauces from your pantry. Dinner is served!

peanut soba noodles recipe with broccoli and red peppers

Peanut Soba Noodles with Broccoli and Red Pepper
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
 

Ingredients
Noodle bowl ingredients
  • 1 package of soba noodles*
  • 2 medium red bell peppers, cut into two inch strips
  • 5-6 tightly bunched broccoli stems (about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds), cut into florets
  • 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil, for stir-frying
  • 2 handfulls of cilantro, chopped
  • 1 small bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
  • lightly roasted peanuts, for topping
Sauce Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced and crushed into a paste (I used my garlic press)
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons reduced sodium tamari
  • big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4-1/2 cup hot water

Instructions
  1. Boil a big pot of water. Add the soba noodles and cook according to the instructions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water. (Tip: soba noodles seem to be more finicky than regular whole wheat pasta, so really, you need to cook them in a lot of water, be sure not to overcook them, and rinse them immediately.)
  2. Sauté your broccoli and red peppers over medium high heat with a splash of vegetable oil for about 5 minutes.
  3. Whisk together the sauce, adding the hot water in increments at the end. As Heidi put it, you want it to be the consistency of a thin yogurt.
  4. Once your noodles are done cooking, rinsed and drained, toss together the noodles, broccoli, red peppers, cilantro, green onions and sauce.
  5. Portion into small bowls and top with a sprinkling of dry roasted peanuts.

Notes
  • Sauce adapted from 101 Cookbooks’s Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad Recipe.
  • *This dish can be gluten free if you source 100% buckwheat soba noodles. It is also vegan.
  • I chose to sautée my veggies but you could probably steam them lightly or perhaps use them raw. You could sub any number of seasonal vegetables for the broccoli and red pepper, too. Just be sure to use a lot of veggies to keep the dish light.
  • If you like this recipe, you’re sure to love my raw veggie soba noodle salad and Ashley’s quick garlicky pasta recipe, too!

share by email
This entry was posted in entrées, fall, gluten free, recipes, vegan and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

28 Comments

  1. Posted October 20, 2011 at 2:02 PM | Permalink

    Are. You. Kidding. Me. YES.

    My eyeballs are so happy.

  2. Posted October 20, 2011 at 3:16 PM | Permalink

    I love a good peanut noodle bowl. So quick to make a delicious! Glad you’re feeling better and beautiful photos too!

  3. Posted October 20, 2011 at 6:20 PM | Permalink

    Yes. I will be making this for sure!

  4. Posted October 20, 2011 at 8:11 PM | Permalink

    Mmmm healthy and sooo pretty! Yum.

  5. Posted October 20, 2011 at 9:43 PM | Permalink

    Oh yum! I’m such a sucker for peanut sauce. Peanut anything, really. And your pictures are beautiful :) I definitely have to make this someday soon!

  6. Posted October 20, 2011 at 9:48 PM | Permalink

    This looks delicious AND easy! So going onto Pinterest!…now, time to go find some buckwheat soba noodles!

    http://milk-and-tea.blogspot.com

  7. Posted October 20, 2011 at 9:48 PM | Permalink

    hmmm looks amazing!

  8. Posted October 20, 2011 at 11:19 PM | Permalink

    This looks like a perfect meal!

  9. Posted October 20, 2011 at 11:27 PM | Permalink

    Love the little noodle dangling from the bowl.
    My peanut butter loving friends need to see this, stat.

    • Posted October 22, 2011 at 1:07 PM | Permalink

      That little noodle was teetering on the edge of the bowl and I gave it a little nudge. :) Wait, are you not a peanut butter lover yourself?

  10. Posted October 21, 2011 at 2:16 AM | Permalink

    looks really delicious… vegan / gluten free sounds great as well

  11. Posted October 21, 2011 at 8:11 AM | Permalink

    Peanut is a great addition to the soba nooldes! Looks colorful and delicious :)

  12. Fauxchef for Five
    Posted October 21, 2011 at 10:59 AM | Permalink

    I am going to make this for my vegan son this weekend. Actually, I think I will make it for all of us. Going to get the ingredients right now!

    • Posted October 22, 2011 at 1:08 PM | Permalink

      I think you’ll all love it! Please let us know how your peanut noodles turn out.

  13. Posted October 21, 2011 at 3:09 PM | Permalink

    Soba noodles and peanut sauce were just meant for each other, a wonderful combination I make often. I will try your version next time.

  14. Posted October 21, 2011 at 4:26 PM | Permalink

    Gorgeous! This is one of my favorite weeknight dinners! I also like making mine with almond butter. Beautiful photos!

    • Posted October 22, 2011 at 1:08 PM | Permalink

      Great idea! I’ll try almond butter next time.

  15. Posted October 21, 2011 at 5:42 PM | Permalink

    Peanut and noodles is one of the best combinations ever invented. This looks delicious – healthy and fresh but satisfyingly rich at the same time. Great post :-)

  16. Posted October 21, 2011 at 8:51 PM | Permalink

    This looks great, and the best news is that I have everything on hand! Gotta try this one. Thanks!

  17. Posted October 23, 2011 at 12:14 PM | Permalink

    Hi Kate! I’ve never commented here, but have been reading for a while. Your dad and my husband, Josh, work together so that’s how I found your lovely blog. Anyways, Josh and I were just ooohing and aaahing over this, so I had to tell you that we’ll be trying it soon. It looks amazing! Thanks for sharing your talent!

    Emily

  18. Posted October 28, 2011 at 10:09 AM | Permalink

    I made this last night and it was fabulous! Loved the addition of stir-fried broccoli, because I usually make noodles like this with just raw vegetables.

    • Posted November 1, 2011 at 11:26 PM | Permalink

      So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Cate! I think next time I’ll try it with almond butter like one of the other commenters suggested!

  19. Janette
    Posted January 24, 2012 at 7:54 PM | Permalink

    I just made it and enjoyed every bite. It was fast, easy, and deliciously healthy.

  20. Posted February 5, 2012 at 8:43 AM | Permalink

    Oh oh oh…this looks SO good! I picked up soba noodles last week and have been craving a good noodle bowl. I have a ton of napa cabbage and bok choy from my csa…I’m inspired to try something like this one. Your photo is gorgeous!!

  21. Bec
    Posted April 23, 2012 at 4:55 AM | Permalink

    Made this tonight with a couple of tiny alterations (ditched the noodles for myself and had it with chicken + tofu because I’m on a low-carb diet), but it was absolutely delicious and my boyfriend (a peanut butter fiend) heartily concurred. Thanks so much!

    • Posted April 23, 2012 at 9:59 AM | Permalink

      Happy to hear that you enjoyed the soba noodles, Bec! Thanks for commenting to let me know. I’m glad you could modify the dish to fit with your low-carb diet. That’s great!

  22. Posted October 29, 2012 at 3:26 PM | Permalink

    Always nice to find a fellow vegetarian food blogger! I loooove your recipes and photographs, everything just looks so beautiful and healthy…
    Can I ask you what camera you’re using? And do you have some tips to improve my pictures? I would be really grateful!

    • Posted October 31, 2012 at 12:27 PM | Permalink

      Thank you, Silke! I use an old Nikon D80 and either the 35mm f1.8 lens or the 50mm f1.8 lens. I’m actually working on an FAQ page with tips, so check back for that link soon.

2 Trackbacks

Your comments make my day. Thank you!

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Rate this recipe: