This is the easiest and most flavorful soba noodle salad with shrimp! Toss it in a zingy homemade peanut ginger dressing and serve it warm or cold!
After the multiple Irish feasts I ate this past weekend, I needed something or someone to drag me out from my salt cave.
And this was it. Shrimp. Soba noodles. Peanut butter. Ginger. Lime. Love.
Served warm, served cold–this soba noodle salad offers so much flavor. It’s rich and peanut buttery, but made zingy and bright with soy and fresh squeezed lime. You can taste the sweetness and warmth of fresh ginger and the darker, deeper notes of toasted sesame oil. It’s certainly a healthy perk that the noodles are whole grain (made from buckwheat) and protein-packed. And adding finely shredded Napa cabbage, carrots, and scallions to the noodles adds not only bulk but interesting textural variety as well.
If you try this recipe at home, feel free to use almond butter in place of the peanut or swap chicken for the shrimp.
Soba Noodle and Shrimp Salad with Peanut Ginger Dressing
Ingredients
- ¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1- inch piece fresh ginger peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 8 ounces dried buckwheat soba noodles 4 cups cooked
- 2 cups finely shredded Napa cabbage
- 2 large carrots grated
- 3 scallions finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound large shrimp peeled and deveined
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic and pulse until smooth. Set aside.
- Boil the soba noodles according to the package directions.
- While the noodles are boiling, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until pink and opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Drain the noodles and put them into a large serving bowl. Add the cabbage, carrots, scallions, and dressing, and toss to combine. To serve, divide the dressed noodles among four serving bowls and then top each portion with shrimp.
Ooh, this looks delish! I’m a bit of a veggie-phile, so I’m going to attempt to swap out some of the noodles for more veggies, and perhaps add bell peppers (my absolute faves). I only have about a week until my Europe trip, so I’ll have to pin this for when I get back in May. Thanks!
Where in Europe are you going?! And can we all come?
Andie
Ha! I’m going to London, Paris, all around southern Ireland including Dublin, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Bruges. I would love an extra travel buddy!
I’m going to take pictures of everything I eat and post it on my blog, so I can share all the yummy eye candy. Oh yes, and the sights as well. :) Is it strange that my favorite part of traveling might be the food? Maybe I can come back a couple of pounds lighter after my month abroad, a la Andie.
Good thing you said we can use Almond butter instead of peanut butter, because I am not a fan of peanut butter. What with all the peanut butter allergies and associated problems like the GMO issue, but mostly because I always associate peanut with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I just can’t get past that.
Having said, this Ginger and Lime combination with shrimp sounds delicious. Of course what the devil is a Napa Cabbage? I really am a peasant. :-) But this is quite healthy. And those elegant chop sticks and photography are the “Pièce de résistance”. Love it.
CV,
You are anything but a peasant, my friend :) Napa cabbage is awesome. It’s softer and more delicate than green cabbage, and it looks different too. See this Wiki page for the full run-down: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napa_cabbage
Andie
Oh my gosh how delicious. It’s lunch time here and looking at the soba noodles is making my tummy rumble! :) Can you use the dressing as a stir fry sauce?
Hey Sonal,
Yes, I think you could and I bet it would be fantastic! Now I want to try…
Andie
Looks very yummy. I wonder how it tastes. From the looks of it, there seems to be mixed flavors of sweetness and sourness as seen by those ingredients. Well, got to try it to find out. Hope I make it right though.
I have a question about sesame oil. I don’t use it often because it overwhelms anything I use it in and/or it is rancid before I can use it. Do you have any tips for buying, storing, and using sesame oil?
Hey Cindy,
Hmm…great question. I honestly have never had a problem with rancidity. I store my sesame oil in a dark cupboard for up to 3-5 months before replacing it. I’m not brand loyal, but I always pick out one with a good price point at Whole Foods in the Asian foods section. I’ve also seen many of the same brands in the more mainstream grocery stores, too.
I just googled storage of sesame oil and found that a lot of people recommend refrigerating it and then letting it come to room temp before using it, or running it under warm water before using to soften it back to liquid form. Here’s a page from the Cooking Light forums: https://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?73809-Storing-Sesame-Oil
Andie
Yum! I too need a detox from the Irish feasts of the past week! I’m going to try this out!
OK, now THIS sounds absolutely amazing. Wow, I can’t wait to try. Thanks for this delish post!
My boyfriend would looooove this!
Some Snapshots Blog
Jess
your logo looks a bit like a tombstone on a hill. stay for dinner, stay FOREVER!
This looks so unbelievably delicious! I’ve just started a total lifestyle over haul, and this is just what I need! you’re such an inspiration :) xx
myrealfooddiary.blogspot.com
Mmmmm … We made it with chicken (I have a seafood allergy) and it was great! Next time we might try the almond butter just for kicks, and if we get really crazy we might go with tofu, too. The shrimp in those photos look really good, it’s times like these when I miss it! Thanks!
This looks so delicious! I was at the groceries today determined to try one of your recipes
ones and for all. However, I couldn’t find the Buckwheat Soba Noodles. What is it? They took me to the Asian area and I found Chuka Soba pasta. No one knew where to find this pasta. :( Where in the supermarket can I find this?
Help!
Thanks!
Hey Liza,
Thanks for the kind comment about the dish!
Sorry, I should have been clearer: soba noodles are made from buckwheat, but the package may not say “buckwheat,” just “soba noodles”. Any brand/kind will do. From my experience in most grocery stores across the country (Shaw’s, Safeway, Stop&Shop, Kroger, you name it) there’s usually some kind of soba noodle in the Asian section. Here is what my package looked like: http://www.amazon.com/Roland-Buckwheat-Soba-Noodles/dp/B001QPO4QO
I hope this helps!
Andie
Hey Andie,
Living, as I am, in a part of the world where Asian sections of the market consist only of soy sauce and pre-packaged ramen, I don’t have access to soba noodles. Any recommendations for what type of noodles to sub for the soba, for now?
Hey Katie,
I’d just use plain spaghetti (whole wheat if you can find it)–the results should be nearly identical in flavor and not too different in texture!
Andie
Highly recommend this – easy to prepare. Used baby bok choy instead of Napa, less honey than called for, and added some red pepper flakes. When I make this again, will skip the honey.
Made this for lunch today! So yummy! I added spinach and broccoli for added nutrients. So satisfying! I’m sort of obsessed with cooking all of your recipes right now. Each of them is tastier then the next! Thanks for sharing.
This was FANTASTIC!! Will definitely double the next time. This will be a great side for parties/cookouts, YUM!!
Andie, I’m making this tonight for dinner. It just sounds so light and delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Reporting back on my dinner…It was fantastic! Even my picky husband loved it, and asked me to save the recipe to make again! So this is a keeper, Andie! :)
This is SO GOOD! I love the raw vegetable component, and shrimp works perfectly. Great sauce! I was out of honey, so I subbed a little brown sugar, and it turned out great! This is a keeper recipe :)
I’m so glad!! Thank you Karissa!
Thkiinng like that shows an expert’s touch