Soba noodle Salad

Soba is the Japanese word for buckwheat. However, it is more commonly used to refer to thin Japanese noodles made from buckwheat flour. The noodles in this salad make it a really filling and satisfying dish. Lots of buckwheat noodles contain wheat as well as buckwheat so make sure to look at the ingredients if you are gluten intolerant.

Prep time 10mins
Cooking time 15 mins

Ingredients
2cm of ginger, finely chopped
Julienned carrots
Purple sprouting broccoli florets
Cooked Tempeh cut into thin slices
1 clove of garlic, minced
Buckwheat Soba Noodles
2 tsps sesame oil
Oil for frying
2 tbsps of tamari
½ tsp of agave syrup (optional)
Sesame seeds
Mixed seaweed or seaweed salad

Method
1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the sesame oil and the noodles. Cook at per the directions on the noodle packet.
2. While the noodles are cooking, heat a frying pan and coat the base with vegetable oil.
3. Add the ginger and then the carrots.
4. After a few minute add the tempeh and after another minute add the broccoli florets.
5. Add the garlic and the tamari to the pan.
6. If using, add the agave to give the dish a little sweetness.
7. Drain noodle into a colander and rinse in cold water. This stops the cooking process. Put the noodles back into the pot and add a little sesame oil. This adds flavour and stops the noodles sticking.
8. Mix the noodles and the vegetables together with the seaweed.

Serving Suggestion
After plating up this dish it is nice to sprinkle it generously with sesame seeds.