Recipe
Green Tea Soba Noodles With Seared Tuna
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Yield:
4 persons

Soba has enjoyed widespread popularity for more than 400 years in Japan. Its popularity then spread around the world. The fact of the light texture, energy giving and well-balanced nutrition of soba make it as the perfect food at all seasons.
Previously, I made Soba Noodles with Five-Spice Pork Salad and Soba Noodles in Kombu Dashi with Teriyaki Salmon; both are tasty and simple recipes. This time, I wanted to try something different. Instead of using plain soba noodles, I opted for green tea soba or also known as chya soba. Green tea soba have a subtle green tinge and are mixed with matcha (green tea).
I have read on the internet on how to cook perfect soba. So, I thought this would be a great topic to share:
1) Boil a large amount of water.
2) The boiling time depends on the thickness of the noodles. To cook the regular thickness of soba, you’ll need about one and a half minutes. And if the soba is thicker then you’ll need to cook longer.
3) Make sure the noodles are cooked completely. If the noodles aren’t boiled long enough, they will be hard to eat.
4) Scoop up the cooked soba with a strainer, and set the noodles down briefly in a bowl of cold water.
With green tea soba, I was inspired to serve seared tuna with. Again, this dish doesn’t require a lot of fancy ingredients, keep it to the simplest is the best.
Green Tea Soba Noodles With Seared Tuna
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Yield:
4 persons
Ingredients:
For the Green Tea Soba Noodles With Seared Tuna:
4 x 125g tuna steaks
3 tbsp sesame oil
4 tbsp black or white sesame seeds
250g green tea soba noodles
1 small courgette, diced
4 spring onions or chives, finely chopped
Sauce:
4 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp soya sauce
2cm piece root ginger, grated
3 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
Method:
1) Boil the noodles in salted water until al dente. Drain. As we are not going to use the noodles straightaway, leave in a bowl of cold water.
2) Drizzle the tuna with 1 tbsp sesame oil and season. Roll in the sesame seeds until coated. Heat a non-stick frying pan to very hot. Sear the tuna on both sides. Keep warm.
3) In a saucepan, saute the courgette until soft. Then, put in ginger, mix well. Followed by lemon juice, soya sauce, mirin and sugar. Stir and mix well. Add in a bit of water if necessary.
4) Drain soba noodles and add in to the saucepan. Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and mix well, set aside.
5) Slice the tuna and divide the noodles into 4 shallow bowls, serve slices of tuna on top. Generously drizzle the sauce over before serving.
You are right that simple is the best. We love all kind of Japanese noodles eg soba, somen, ramen and udon. They are healthy yet delicious. The seared tuna with sesame seeds looks very tasty! 😉
I love Japanese food and hopefully to make it to taste the real food in Japan one day! 🙂
Simple, beautiful, elegant! I love such dishes – let the ingredients speak for themselves. The sesame seeds and courgettes add a wonderful finish. Perfect 🙂
Thank you! I reckon the black sesame will make it even more pretty..
This sounds wonderful! Beautiful photo 🙂
Thank you!
Another fabulous soba recipes I could make at home. Thanks.
Definitely!
I haven't tried cold soba noodles…i love the look of this..
Soba is just delicious.. 🙂
I haven’t tried cold soba noodles…i love the look of this..
P.S. – Sorry, forgot to tell you great post!
Cette recette me rappelle mes vacances au japon: j'essaierai avec les nouilles soba au sarrasin qui sont dans mon placard!!
Je pense que les nouilles soba au sarrasin seront aussi bonne!
Great recipe ! I have only tried cooking the simple plain cold soba. Thanks for the recipe !
No worries! Try and let me know!
It looks so beautiful….
I used to enjoy udon more than soba but now…soba is my favorite.
I used to love Udon too.. but, I think I am like you, Soba is my favourite.
Where do I buy green tea soba noodles from? I live in Australia, would asian grocers have it?
Hey there.. I reckon you can easily get green tea soba noodles from asian grocers. If not, try Japanese or Korean grocers.
look healthy and lovely!! better than the one sell in Japanese restaurant here! I think it's high time I should get some wheat soba for Mishu,she on diet!
Thank you. Ah, Mishu is on diet? This will be great for her. It is easy to prepare too (good for you in this case.. hehe).
lengthy and in depth article but full of useful information
I love tuna and I love this way of cooking – lightly seared with pink inside. Looks gorgeous.
I believe this is the perfect way to eat the gorgeous tuna. 🙂
I've never seen green tea soba. It looks fantastic. Soba is best when made simply like this.
Thanks for dropping by! Simplicity is the best policy! 🙂
Yeap, simple and nice! The tuna looks perfect! Have to look out for this green tea soba, I always get the normal ones. This sounds great!
I normally buy the normal soba and the green tea one caught my attention!! heehe.. I bought it at a Japanese grocery in Soho.
Your recipes look just great and really tasty. Gorgeous photos. Thank you for this beautiful and delighted time I spent through your blog.
Thank you for dropping by! Stay tuned for more yummy food! 🙂