Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Mango and a Perfectly Spicy Dressing

I'm a big fan of Asian food.

It's flavorful, colorful, fresh, fun to eat, and often easy to make.

But some dishes have one clear catch: they can pack a lot of calories.

The reason? Often, it's the sauce – that delicious finishing touch served alongside the dish or tossed right in.

These sauces often combine vegetable, meat, or fish stock with ingredients like soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, coconut oil, sesame seeds, and/or peanut butter. Those combinations bring wonderful flavor, but they can also send the calorie count climbing.

A serving of noodles with a rich, flavorful sauce can easily top 700 calories and reach 1,000 if there are fried ingredients in the mix.

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

If you're eating at home, especially when it's hot and humid out, try this cold soba noodle salad with mango and a spicy soy-based dressing.

I especially love cold, spicy noodle salads because they're easy to pack for lunch at the office or bring to a dinner party with friends. And soba is my noodle of choice.

I love that soba noodles are made with buckwheat, contain protein, and have a lovely, delicate flavor. Depending on the variety, they can also be gluten-free; some contain wheat, so check the label.

A Little About This Cold Soba Noodle Salad

I used soba noodles, but you can use whatever noodles you like: ramen, bean thread noodles, or another favorite.

The dressing's ingredient list isn't too long. Don't like something on it? Leave it out. No big deal. 🙂

The salad gets protein from edamame, along with a whole assortment of vegetables I had in the fridge. Feel free to swap in the vegetables you like best.

For extra flavor, interest, and a little fun, I added 1/2 cup of ripe mango that was hanging around my kitchen. Lychee, kiwi, papaya, or another tropical fruit you love would work, too. Don't skip the fruit—it's the fun part!

In the mood for another Asian-inspired dish? How about a vegan curry?

Nutrition Information from Noam Bachar (an Israeli clinical dietitian and fitness trainer):

A 400 g (14 oz) serving of soba noodle salad with mango and vegetables contains:

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

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

Cold Soba Noodle Salad

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes

Yield 1 serving

Ingredients

• 80 g (2.8 oz) dry soba noodles about 120 g (4.2 oz) after cooking

For the Dressing

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• juice of 1/2 lime (or lemon)
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 3-4 slices hot chile pepper for the heat lovers
• 1/2 scallion, sliced

For the Salad

• 100 g (3.5 oz) cooked, shelled edamame
• 1/2 cup mango 80 g (2.8 oz), diced
• 1 cucumber sliced
• 1 head bok choy sliced, including the white stalks
• 3-4 mushrooms sliced
• 1 bunch sprouts
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds 1 g (0.04 oz), for garnish

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Add the soba noodles and cook for about 5-6 minutes, until tender.

   

3. Drain and rinse thoroughly under cold water to keep the noodles from sticking together.

4. In a small bowl, mix all the dressing ingredients.

   

5. Transfer the soba noodles to a deep bowl.

6. Add the salad ingredients, pour over the dressing, and toss.

7. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and dig in!