If you’re craving cold soba noodles with a rich, gingery sesame dressing, this version delivers with minimal effort. The dressing is creamy and punchy, and the blocks of silken tofu make it feel like a real meal, not just a side dish. You can prep everything up ahead of time (with the dressing on the side) and toss it together when you’re ready to eat.
Read on for a bit more info on the sesame ginger dressing + some reasons I love this recipe, or jump to the recipe if you’re ready to cook.
Why I love this recipe for cold soba noodles
It’s easy to prep ahead
You can prep it a day or two ahead, dressing only the noodles and leaving the rest of the dressing on the side. Perfect for lunches and meal prep.
It’s adaptable
I love this particular combination, but feel free to use what veggies you have. Tomatoes instead of cucumbers, cilantro instead of basil—substitute like for like. Cold soba noodles is a great chance to get creative or to use what you have.
Silken tofu is elite
Silken is my favorite form of tofu. I love to drizzle Kewpie sesame dressing over a big block with a sprinkle of green onions and cilantro and dig in with a spoon. These cold soba noodles are a slightly more complicated version of that, but not by much.
A few notes on the dressing
I have a whole post about sesame ginger dressing, which you can visit for more info, but here’s a quick summary of everything you need to know:
- The dressing in this recipe is a half-batch of the one I linked to above. It makes the amount you need for these cold soba noodles. But if you want extra, feel free to make the one recipe from the link above.
- It’s super easy to make, but an easy shortcut is to use frozen minced garlic and ginger. They come in tiny little ice cube trays in the freezer section. Bottled lime juice is also fine, since it’s a very small amount.
- Don’t skimp on the water, even though it may sound like a lot. If you’d like, you can start by adding a bit less, and then add some to your preference. But the dressing needs quite a bit.
Cold Soba Noodles
- Yield: 4 servings as a main
Ingredients
- 8 oz [225 g] soba noodles
- 1⅓ cups [320 g] sesame ginger dressing*
- Rice wine vinegar, for thinning
- One 12.3 oz [350 g] package firm silken tofu
- 2 bell peppers, very thinly sliced
- ½ English cucumber, very thinly sliced
- 4 radishes, very thinly sliced
- 1 small bunch fresh basil
- ⅓ cup [20 g] sliced green onions
- 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 4 lime wedges
Instructions
- Boil the soba noodles according to the package instructions, then rinse them under cold water and drain well. Place the soba noodles in a large mixing bowl and top with ⅔ cup [155 g] of the sesame ginger dressing. Toss together well to coat very evenly and add more water or vinegar to thin it out and add a bit more acidity. Divide the noodles among 4 bowls.
- Pat the silken tofu dry and cut the brick into 4 big cubes. Place one tofu cube in each bowl. Top each bowl with bell pepper, cucumber, and more dressing (2 to 3 Tbsp per bowl). Garnish with radishes, basil, green onions, sesame seeds, and lime wedges, and serve (squeeze the lime on at the last minute).
Notes
*Sesame ginger dressing:
This makes the amount of dressing called for in this recipe. If you’d like to have extra dressing, visit my sesame ginger dressing recipe instead. It is just this recipe x2. If you don’t want extra dressing, make the following:
- ½ cup [125 g] tahini
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp [90 g] water
- 3 Tbsp [45 g] rice vinegar
- 1½ Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1½ Tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed through a press
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the tahini, water, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, lime juice, ginger, and garlic. It will start out watery, but will thicken as you continue to whisk, and will thicken further in the refrigerator.
Psst… by the way, I love this recipe so much, I ended up including it in my cookbook, Piecemeal.
If you like this recipe as much as I do, you might like my book! It’s full of mix-and-match recipes and inspiration for fun and easy meals.
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