In my June 18 Weekend Cooking post, Book Review: The Very Best of Recipes for Health by Martha Rose Shulman, I mentioned that I wanted to try the Hot and Sour Soba Salad. Carol at There’s always thyme to cook beat me to it. She found the original recipe on the New York Times site, made some changes and produced a dish that even the famous Miss Picky liked!

I started with Carol’s version of the recipe and made two different variations last week.

In the first, I wanted a small lunch-sized portion for myself, quickly made and emphasizing the vegetables. I reduced the overall recipe, except for the veggies, for one serving. I reduced the oil and eliminated the chicken broth since it didn’t seem necessary to get a sauce with reduced oil. And, I used powdered garlic and ginger for quicker preparation.

Light Fast Food Lunch Hot and Sour Soba Noodles

photo of lunch hot and sour soba noodles

Source: recipe by Martha Rose Shulman, NY Times Recipes for Health and the book, The Very Best of Recipes for Health
adapted by There’s Always Thyme to Cook
further adapted by Joy’s Book Blog

2 tsp peanut butter
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 drops hot red pepper oil (to taste)
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash powdered ginger
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 oz Japanese buckwheat noodles
1 cup diced or julienned cucumber
1/4 cup shredded red cabbage

Heat the peanut butter for about 10 to 20 seconds in a microwave to make it easier to mix. Combine with the soy sauce, vinegar, hot red pepper oil, garlic, ginger and salt and pepper. Whisk together. Whisk in the sesame oil. Set aside.

To cook the noodles, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add salt, if desired, and the noodles. When the water comes back to a boil and bubbles up, add a cup of cold water to the pot. Allow the water to come back to a boil, and add another cup of cold water. Allow the water to come to a boil one more time, and add a third cup of water. When the water comes to a boil again, the noodles should be cooked through. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain and toss immediately with the dressing (whisk the dressing again first). Add the remaining ingredients, and toss together. Taste, adjust seasonings, and serve. Serves 1 as a main dish lunch.

For the second variation, I needed a starchy side dish to go alongside grilled chicken and this Cucumber Salad. Since I had cucumbers in the salad, I didn’t need them with the noodles. Following Carol’s idea to use zucchini instead of cucumbers, I was inspired by this Summer Squash Slaw recipe to put in julienne slices of zucchini and yellow squash for the vegetables. I also didn’t really need peanut butter since the chicken provided plenty of protein, so I invented an Asian sauce without the peanut butter. I also made a larger batch to serve two people.

I liked this variation just as much, but Rick thought that the texture of the summer squashes wasn’t a crisp enough contrast to the soba noodles. Apparently, he will like the cabbage and cucumber version better.

Summer Squash Soba Noodle Salad

Inspired by Hot and Sour Soba Salad Martha Rose Shulman, NY Times Recipes for Health and the book, The Very Best of Recipes for Health
adapted by There’s Always Thyme to Cook
and Taste of Home’s Summer Squash Slaw
sauce invented by Joy Weese Moll of Joy’s Book Blog

2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp hot sesame oil
1/2 of a large zucchini, julienned
1/2 of a large yellow squash, julienned
2 oz soba noodles

Combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, hoison sauce, mustard, vinegar, hot oil, and maple syrup. Whisk together. Set aside.

To cook the noodles, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add salt, if desired, and the noodles. When the water comes back to a boil and bubbles up, add a cup of cold water to the pot. Allow the water to come back to a boil, and add another cup of cold water. Allow the water to come to a boil one more time, and add a third cup of water. When the water comes to a boil again, the noodles should be cooked through. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain and toss immediately with the dressing (whisk the dressing again first). Add the julienned summer squash, and toss together. Taste, adjust seasonings, and serve. Serves 2 as a side dish.

The Weekend Cooking party is going strong this week at Beth Fish Reads! I will be post number 27. Can’t wait to look at all the other food stories that people are telling this week.