Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Mango and a Perfect Spicy Dressing

 

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A post shared by Haggai Leffler - The Vegan Athlete (@haggai_leffler) on Sep 2, 2019 at 8:51am PDT

I think Asian food is wonderful.

It's tasty, vibrant, colorful, fresh, and easy to prepare.

But it has one distinct disadvantage: it can be very high in calories.

The reason is the sauce—which almost every self-respecting Asian dish serves either on the side or within the dish.

The sauce is usually based on vegetable, meat, or fish stock combined with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, coconut oil, sesame seeds, and/or peanut butter. These combinations give the dish a wonderful flavor but also dramatically increase the calorie count.

A portion of noodles combined with a rich and tasty sauce can easily exceed the 700-calorie mark and even reach 1000 if there are fried ingredients involved.

My advice: if you're eating out, ask for the sauce on the side and add just a tablespoon or two to your meal.

If you want to eat at home, especially in hot and humid weather, you can make this cold soba noodle salad with mango and a spicy soy-based dressing.

I particularly love cold and spicy noodle salads because they are easy to take to the office or to friends for a festive dinner, and I especially love soba noodles.

I love them because they are made from buckwheat, are often gluten-free (depending on the type), contain protein, and have a delicate, wonderful flavor.

A bit about the cold soba noodle salad

I used soba noodles, but you can use any other noodles you like: ramen noodles, glass noodles, or any other type.

The sauce has a relatively short list of ingredients: if you don't like one of them, simply leave it out. No big deal! 🙂

The salad contains edamame as a protein source and a variety of vegetables I had in my fridge. Feel free to swap the vegetables according to your preference.

To add flavor, interest, and a bit of fun, I added half a cup of ripe mango I had in the kitchen. You can replace it with lychee, kiwi, papaya, or any other tropical fruit you like. Don't skip it, it's the best part!

Want another Asian dish? How about a vegan curry?

Nutritional values by clinical dietitian and fitness coach Noam Bechar:

A 400g serving of soba noodle salad with mango and vegetables contains:

• 400 kcal
• 19g protein
• 12g fat
• 54g carbohydrates

Made the dish? Don't forget to tag me so I can see and share! 🙂

Print

Cold Soba Noodle Salad

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes

Servings 1 serving

Ingredients

• 80 g soba noodles, uncooked approx. 120g after cooking

For the dressing

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• juice from half a lime (or lemon)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp ginger
• 3-4 slices spicy chili for spicy lovers
• 1/2 scallion (green onion), sliced

For the salad

• 100 g cooked soybeans (edamame)
• 1/2 cup mango 80g - diced
• 1 cucumber sliced
• 1 bok choy sliced, including the white part
• 3-4 mushrooms sliced
• 1 bunch sprouts
• 1/4 tsp sesame seeds 1g - for garnish

Instructions

1. Boil water in a large pot

2. Add the soba noodles and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened

   

3. Drain the boiling water and rinse the noodles well under cold water to prevent sticking

4. In a small bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients

   

5. Place the soba noodles in a deep bowl

6. Add all the salad ingredients and pour the dressing over them

7. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy