Cold Soba Salad with Purple Radish Microgreens

I posted a picture of this weeknight meal I made for my sister and her picky four year old son to our work message board. Everyone demanded the recipe! So here I am, doing my duty and writing it down. This dish is infinitely riffable, great for clearing out the back of the veg drawer, easy, and super satisfying.

-Brad Stanton

Here's what you will need:

Buckwheat soba preferably. I like these ones from Co-op. 

You can use other noodles, but be sure to stick to an alkali noodle to maintain that springy, al-dente texture when they're cold. Don't use spaghetti. 

I use one bundle per adult, but making extra for lunch the next day is a great idea. Soba cooks very quickly, so boil in salted water for only 5 minutes. Check the texture. The noodles should be soft, but still chewy. Strain, then either put the noodles into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process, or rinse really, really well in cold water from the tap, mixing constantly. Set aside.

You could probably put just about any vegetable in this salad, but I like to stick to crunchy things. So think raw, or slightly pickled. For this version I used whatever my sister had in her fridge: carrots, orange peppers, bok choy, snow peas, green onions, and obviously, microgreens! My sister is in the Club, of course.

The sky is the limit. Radish, beets, broccoli, kale, gai lan, spinach, arugula, cabbage, cucumber, any onion, any kind of crunchy fridge pickle... You get the idea. Cilantro and parsley are also welcome to the party. Slice everything into thin strips.

Your options are endless! Here are three ideas.

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tsp freshly grated ginger

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp mirin (alternately 1-2 tsp brown sugar)

Whisk all ingredients together. Makes about 1/2 cup.

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

3 Tbs soy sauce

1-3 Tbs chili sauce (eg. Sambal Oelek, Sriracha), more or less to taste

2 Tbs rice wine vinegar (or citrus of choice)

1 Tbs sesame oil

1 Tbs sugar or honey (omit if your peanut butter has sugar in it)

1 clove garlic, grated

3 Tbs warm water