ginger soba noodles

i'm tired. my eyes are trying to close. i had a long, long day that included getting peed on by a 6 month old (and we're not talking about just a drop...we're talking full stream). i'm exhausted but i can't go to bed until i write this post. i'm that excited about this recipe. 

i made this for dinner tonight for the nanny family. i took one bite and knew i was in trouble...i couldn't stop! the secret is in the ginger dressing. all the ingredients perfectly blended together to create this tangy but sweet sauce to coat the sticky soba noodles. after some coercing we even got the kiddies to eat it. you can serve it as a main course or a side dish.

the recipe comes from heidi swanson at 101 cookbooks. i had to tweak it a little tiny bit based on what i had at the house. here we go!

ingredients:

8 oz dried soba noodles

1 tablespoon freshly grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 cup chopped white onion

1 teaspoon mirin (optional)

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

3 tablespoons brown rice vinegar

1 celery stalk, strings removed, then chopped

1/3 cup vegetable oil

a few big handfuls of cubed tofu, pan-fried or baked until golden

1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds, plus a little more

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

directions:

cook the soba noodles according to package directions in well salted water. drain, rinse under cold water, and shake off as much of the water as possible.

meanwhile, make the dressing by combining the ginger, toasted sesame oil, lemon zest and juice, onion, mirin, honey, salt, vinegar, celery, and oil in a food processor. blend until very smooth, then press aggressively through a strainer. 

in a large bowl, toss the soba noodles with the tofu, most of the pumpkin seeds, and the dressing. garnish with green onions and remaining pumpkin seeds.

side note: the kiddies asked for some "soy" on theirs...meaning soy sauce. you can add a little of that on top or even some brown rice vinegar.