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I am so happy with the way this dish turned out; it is somewhat a fusion of Asian flavours but the result is a fresh and delicious noodle salad with wonderful texture. The delicate flavour of green tea is wonderful in cooking and for this dish i decided to use it as a marinade for silky tofu before tossing it through organic cha (green tea) soba noodles and fresh salad ingredients YUM!
To get the best results use good quality loose leaf green tea brewed for just 1 minute to insure the flavour does not become too bitter. A traditional Japanese firm tofu that is silky and smooth works well as it tends to break up nicely when tossed through the salad. If you can’t find Cha soba (Japanese green tea) noodles try making the salad with plain soba or vermicelli noodles.
Use whatever salad ingredients you have on hand; any green vegetable and/or finely sliced ribbons of cucumber or carrot plus different mushrooms and sprouts of your liking would all work well. We served the salad piled on top of crispy deep fried wonton wrappers.
Serve as a side salad, as an entrée with the wonton wrappers or as a delicious and filling vegetarian main dish. Fresh, so healthy and so very, very yum num num…
Preparation time: 20mins (+ 2-5 hours to marinate the tofu)
Serves 4 {as a main} 6-8 {as a side or entrée}
Green Tea Marinated Tofu
- 300g (10.5oz) firm Japanese tofu
- 350ml (12 fl oz) freshly brewed green tea
- 1 tbs fresh minced ginger
- 2 spring onions, diced
- 1 red chilli, diced
- 2 tbs soy sauce or tamari
Noodle Salad Dressing
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 1 tbs rice wine vinegar
Green Tea Noodle Salad
- 200g (7oz) Organic Cha Soba (Japanese green tea) noodles
- ½ red capsicum, diced
- 2½ cups shredded savoury cabbage
- 1 cup crunchy sprout mix (lentil, azuki & peas)
- 1 tbs black sesame seeds
Crispy Wonton Wrappers
- 2 cups rice bran oil
- 8-12 wonton wrappers
to serve
- red chilli, diced
- spring onion, sliced
- fresh coriander, shredded
To marinate the tofu combine the brewed tea with the ginger, spring onions, chilli and soy sauce. Chop the tofu into cubes and add to the marinade insuring all the tofu pieces are covered. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, can be left to marinate overnight.
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions, strain and rinse well, set aside.
To make the dressing combine half the marinade with the remaining ingredients.
In a large salad bowl add the fresh salad ingredients, black sesame seeds, cooled noodles, tofu and dressing (reserve a little for serving). Use your hands to gently toss all the ingredients well.
If serving with the wonton wrappers heat the rice bran oil in a medium saucepan until hot, check the heat by adding a small cube of bread, it should crisp and golden straight away.
Carefully deep fry each wonton wrapper individually; it should only take a few seconds on each side for them to crisp and golden, remove from the hot oil and strain on absorbent paper.
To serve as an entrée place two wonton wrappers on individual plates for each person, pile salad on top, drizzle with a little extra dressing and top with chilli, spring onion and coriander.
Alternatively serve a good helping in individual bowls drizzled with extra dressing and garnished with chilli, spring onions and coriander.
Also great as a side salad for a party or BBQ and perfect for your lunch box. Enjoy!!
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum! And aren’t soba noodles gluten free too? Maybe? Great dish either way…
I’m always looking for new flavours to try in noodle dishes. This looks wonderful!
Yum! I love green tea in anything! Looks delicious!!
Wow. Sounds nice, and I happen to have a bunch of green tea noodles in the cupboard (not sure if it’s soba, I think it’s just wheat noodles) that I bought with food photography in mind, but never got around to using.
Thanks for the great comments all!! Hope you get to try and devour with happiness this tasty little noodle salad :D