Soba Noodle Salad – with asparagus, or broccoli, or edamame

I started this post thinking I would try and open with a bit of witty banter about families and how weird they are. Then I quickly realized that during this –my busy season at work- me and the word witty have no business hanging out. My brain is fried so what better to do than write a blog post?! That and this is the perfect dish for this time of year since all the cool kids are talking about asparagus.

Back to families being weirdos. You know how parents do the most random stuff sometimes? Take my mother for example. She never sends mail, writes letters, none of that. It just ain’t her bag. She calls at least once a week to remind me that I need to call her and sends some random forwarded e-mails my way but that’s about it. So one can imagine my surprise years ago when I get an envelope in the mail from my mom. I open it expecting to find-well let’s be honest I didn’t expect anything cuz this stuff never happens. Inside was a random recipe cut out from a random newspaper. No note, no nothing. Weirdos. But it was the best dang random thing my mommy ever did do. It was a recipe for Asparagus Soba Noodle Salad and it is DELICIOUS. I’ve been making it for years and it is ALWAYS a crowd pleaser. Best part, you can sub any green veggie for the asparagus and it will still be amazing!

So I bring to you Asparagus Soba Noodle Salad from some random newspaper in New Jersey. Cheers to summer – this one is perfect for the party.

• 2T soy sauce

• 1T granulated sugar (we use raw)

• 2T unseasoned rice vinegar

• 2t finely grated ginger

• 1 small clove garlic, grated (I just press it)

• ½t crushed red pepper flakes (we always add more at the end cuz we like a lil kick)

• 2t dark sesame oil

• 2T vegetable oil (you can easily get away with 1.5 or 1 but for your first time I recommend full oil just so you know how that turns out)

• 12 ozs asparagus spears – thick stalks rule (I also sub broccoli or edamame and it is delicious)

• 6 ozs buckwheat soba noodles (if you want this to be straight up vegan be sure to check ingredients on your noodles, some have eggs. We stock ones that have zero English on the packaging so I can’t even tell you the name but we found them at Lunds)

• 2 small carrots peeled and thinly sliced diagonally

• 4 green onions, chopped

• ½ cup tamari almonds, coarsely chopped (can be found in bulk at Whole Foods or sometimes we just use roasted)

• ½C fresh cilantro

• freshly ground black pepper

1) Bring large pot of water to a boil

2) Make dressing

• In small bowl combine soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Gradually whisk in sesame oil and vegetable oil. Set aside

3) Cook asparagus and noodles

• Bend each asparagus until tough ends snap off. Cut spears diagonally into 2-inch lengths. Add soba noodles to pot of boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes. Add asparagus to pot. Boil for 2 more minutes or until noodles are al dente. Pour noodles and asparagus into colander. Rinse under cold running water until noodles are cool to the touch.

4) Assemble

• Transfer noodles and asparagus to large serving bowl. Toss with dressing, carrots, green onions, almonds and cilantro. Season with pepper. Serve.

YUM!