034 / 75 · Rice, noodles and pasta
Sesame Soba and Edamame Bowls
2 lightly dressed soba bowls, each with half the noodles, edamame and vegetables · Active 20 min · Cook 19 min · Total 40 min
Print recipe · PDFSoba is good in a lightly dressed bowl as well as a hot broth. Rinse the cooked noodles to separate their surface starch, cook the edamame fully by its own label, then combine them with crisp cucumber and grated carrot. The sesame dressing is small and measured. This recipe is served just after mixing, not advertised as a chilled picnic meal in forty minutes.
Let the noodle water have room
Soba can release a lot of starch. Use the large water bowl, keep checking the foam and stir at the scheduled stops. Once the noodles are cooked through, drain and rinse briefly with cool drinking water to separate them. That rinse is for texture; it is not an unmeasured sauce addition.
Cool enough to dress, not a cold-storage shortcut
Let cooked edamame lose its heavy steam before mixing with the cucumber. A short rest makes the bowl pleasant to eat immediately, but it does not guarantee refrigerator temperature. If preparing for later, use the storage instructions and allow real chilling time. The dressing uses sesame oil and ready-to-eat toasted seeds, without asking the microwave to toast anything.
Ingredients
- 100 g (3½ oz) dry soba noodles, with a package boiling interval around 4–6 minutes
- 1 L water (about 4¼ US cups), for noodle cooking, drained
- 150 g (5⅓ oz) frozen shelled edamame, with microwave directions for this portion; not raw or merely thawed
- Water for edamame as directed by the packet, drained
- 100 g (3½ oz) washed cucumber, cut into thin short sticks
- 60 g (2 oz) prepared carrot, coarsely grated
- 10 ml toasted sesame oil (2 tsp)
- 10 ml soy sauce (2 tsp)
- 15 ml rice vinegar (1 tbsp)
- 10 g ready-to-eat toasted sesame seeds (about 1 tbsp)
- 5 g sugar (about 1¼ tsp)
Set out
1000 W microwave with turntable, Kitchen scale and measuring jug, Knife and board, Spoon, Oven mitts, Two serving bowls, Microwave-safe noodle bowl, at least 3 L/about 3¼ US qt measured capacity, about 22 cm/8¾ in inside diameter and 11 cm/4¼ in deep, Second microwave-safe bowl, at least 1 L/about 1 US qt measured capacity, Two microwave-safe vented covers, Colander, Fork or tongs, Box grater, Small dressing bowl
Allergens
Wheat, Buckwheat, Soy, Sesame. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Put the dry soba and all 1 L noodle water in the 3 L bowl. Cover with the vent open and microwave at 1000 W full power for 6–7 minutes, stirring after 3 and 5 minutes, until the water is bubbling steadily. Pause sooner if foam rises.
- Reduce to 70% power and cook for the full package boiling interval, normally 4–6 minutes, stirring every 1–2 minutes and keeping gentle bubbles. The noodles should be fully flexible and tender with no hard center. Use 1-minute bursts if needed. Carefully drain in the colander, rinse briefly with cool drinking water and drain well. Return to the emptied noodle bowl off the heat.
- Cook edamame in the separate 1 L bowl using its complete actual microwave-package process, including cover, water, stirring and standing. The plan reserves about 6 minutes for a suitable packet; follow a longer label process if required. Drain and spread briefly in the bowl for about 5 minutes until heavy steam subsides.
- Meanwhile stir all the sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar in the dressing bowl until the sugar dissolves. Add the cooked drained edamame, cucumber, carrot, dressing and all the toasted sesame seeds to the cooked noodles. Toss with fork or tongs, scraping all the dressing into the mixture. Divide equally between two bowls and eat promptly, cool or lukewarm.
Shelled means shelled
The 150 g is edible shelled edamame, not the weight of pods. Follow the exact product process before mixing.
Dress the whole batch
All 10 g sesame seeds and the full measured dressing belong across the two portions. No additional oil, seeds or sauce is a decorative extra.
Ingredient labels
Soba commonly contains wheat as well as buckwheat; check its actual composition. Edamame and soy sauce contain soy, and standard soy sauce usually contains wheat. Sesame oil and seeds contain sesame.
A useful detail
The 40-minute plan allows 10 minutes of preparation, up to 13 minutes of noodle heating, a 6-minute allowance for the complete edamame process, 5 minutes to release heavy steam and 6 minutes for draining, rinsing and dressing. The two cooking bowls use one 1000 W microwave sequentially. Refrigerator-cold transport is a separate make-ahead route, not included in this immediate-service clock.
Another way
- Replace soba with 100 g/3½ oz dry whole-wheat spaghetti broken once to fit, only with its full longer package boiling interval. This can add 5–8 minutes and still contains wheat/gluten.
- Replace 100 g/3½ oz cucumber with 100 g/3½ oz finely shredded washed cabbage. It gives a firmer raw crunch; the cooking and dressing quantities stay unchanged.
Keep it well
For later use, divide into shallow covered portions and refrigerate within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or colder. Use within 24 hours or an earlier edamame-package deadline for best texture. The 40-minute immediate-service time does not prove the meal is cold enough to pack; chill fully before cold transport. Keep chilled and eat cold rather than repeatedly warming this raw-vegetable noodle bowl.