Gingery soba noodles with charred greens are a best kept secret of the cooking world. They taste so good with a simple drizzle of sesame oil but can also act as a blank canvas for all the flavour you can bring. Best of yet, they take 4 minutes to cook and will last a good few days in your fridge. Oh and they’re freezable. They hold up well.

This recipe originates from my VeggieREBEL program. Which is an experience of celebrating vegetables and adding more of them to your plate. It’s not a course in becoming a vegetarian (although it could be), it’s not about demonising meat either. It’s about adding more vegetables and a wider variety of them to your plate so you can eat the rainbow and feel confident cooking and serving them.

I shared the recipe for these Gingery Soba Noodles with Charred Greens in a live cooking class a few years back. You can watch the video or read on below for a summary of tips. In this video I also feature these Quickled Cucumbers.

Soba noodles

There are a few things you need to know about soba first:

Soba noodle tip #1 – the standard packets contain a combo of wheat and buckwheat. If you’re gluten free, look for 100% buckwheat soba noodles, they’re darker in colour. The gluten free version will take a little longer to cook and can result in an extra risk of ‘gluggyness’ so rinse them well and follow the tips below to ensure they’re beautiful silky smooth.

Soba noodle tip #2 – they don’t take very long to cook at all, 4 minutes for standard, about 8 for 100% buckwheat.

Soba noodle tip #3 – they hold their shape really well, which means you can add them to soup – like a ramen or in your salads.

Soba noodle tip #4 – once cooked, rinse well, otherwise they become a gloopy mess and will be harder to separate.

Soba noodle tip #5 – once rinsed, hit them with a simple oily dressing, or even just some sesame oil and mix through like you would pasta. This will prevent them from sticking, keep them silky and add flavour.

Soba noodle tip #6 – they will last in your fridge for 3-5 days. I like to use them as a side to my salad each day, especially if I’ve added some nice dressing to them. It will make your lunches feels more creative and mix it up a bit.

Charring your veggies

To charr your veggies means to burn them a little bit.

We’re using a fairly hot pan with some oil to cook your veggies.

We’re looking for surface area of your veggies onto the pan.

Then it’s all about colour. We’re watching the veggies change colour, in this case broccoli changes from a dull green to a bright green (before it goes dull again, which means it’s over cooked). We’re also looking for browned bits, dark charcoal edges without burning it to a crisp.

Charring your veggies is a wonderful way to quickly cook a meal and add extra flavour.

Gingery soba noodles with charred greens

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp tamari sauce

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 1/2 small garlic clove, finely chopped

• 1 lime juice and zest

• 2 tbsp sesame oil

• 1-2 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger

• Black pepper

• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• Handful of chopped broccoli or broccolini

• A good pinch of salt

• 1 bulb of bok choy, remove end and chop into quarters

• 1.5 – 2L water

• 1⁄2 packet of soba noodles

• Optional: chilli – if you’re a chilli lover, serve with some chilli sauce or chilli flakes

Method

1. In a jar combine tamari, maple syrup, garlic, lime, sesame oil and ginger with a good crack of black pepper. Place lid on jar and shake well to mix, put to the side.

2. Heat a pan on medium heat, add sesame seeds and toast for around 5 minutes. Place to side.

3. Add broccoli / broccolini with a good pinch of salt and char for about 5 minutes. The edges will go brown and crispy, the side facing up will turn a brighter green. Flip broccoli / broccolini and add bok choy quarters and char, flip bok choy after around 1.5 minutes.
   You can also roughly chop your bok choy into smaller pieces and stir this through your broccoli for a faster cook.

4. Bring around 1.5 – 2L water to the boil, add soba noodles. Cook to packet instructions.

5. Drain soba noodles and rinse well under water. Transfer noodles to a serving plate and dress with around half the dressing. Mix well to coat noodles. Scatter with sesame seeds and mix again. Arrange broccoli and bok choy on top, add more dressing and sesame seeds.

6. I like to serve this meal with quickled cucumbers or in a bowl with a ladle of warm chicken broth over the top (for a ramen affect), in my lunchbox with some leftover roasted veggies and this nutty satay dressing.