Delicious soba noodle bowl with cornmeal breaded tofu and crunchy veggies.
This weeknight-friendly creamy soba noodle salad is full of awesome flavours. It’s packed with fragrant cilantro, beautiful, fresh veggies, such as radishes, zucchini and bell pepper, and my favourite spiced cornmeal breaded tofu cubes, then it’s all tossed with a slightly spicy and sweet almond dressing. It’s a light and refreshing bowl that’s filling and satiating at the same time. This soba noodle bowl recipe makes a great quick gluten-free and oil-free dinner option.
The beauty of this recipe (once again), that it’s perfectly customisable. Just toss together whatever veggies and herbs you have left in the fridge or you crave, and voila…you’ve got amazing food. You can add cabbage, edamame, carrots, Thai basil or mint, use peanut or cashew butter instead of almond butter…the options are endless here. Cheers to simple and healthy meals!
If you try this recipe, let me know! I would highly appreciate if you could leave a comment and rate it. Also don’t forget to take a picture and tag it on Instagram (use the hashtag #greenevi) or post it on Facebook! I love seeing what you come up with! ♥︎
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Soba Noodle Bowl w/ Crispy Tofu (Vegan + GF)
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 2-3 1x
Ingredients
For the tofu
- 200 g/7 oz tofu
- 4 tbsp cornmeal
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp turmeric
- salt, pepper
For the salad
- 100 g/ 3.5 oz soba noodles
- 1 zucchini
- 1/2 bell pepper
- 2 scallions
- 1/2 cup of sprouts of your choice
- 10 radishes
- 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
- 1 cup of fresh cilantro
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 1 tsp miso
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 lime, juice
- 1,5 tsp fresh, minced ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic
- dash of hot sauce
- salt
Instructions
Tofu
- Drain tofu, then place between two paper towels and place something heavy on top. Press tofu for at least 10 minutes.
- Mix together in a bowl cornmeal, sesame seeds, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, turmeric, salt and pepper. Once tofu if pressed cut into 1 cm/0.5 inch cubes and transfer to the cornmeal mixture and coat well.
- Arrange tofu on a baking tray in an even layer and bake for 25-30 minutes at 200°C/400℉.
Salad
- Prepare soba noodles according to package instructions. Drain well and let cool a bit.
- Meanwhile spiralize zucchini, chop scallions and cilantro roughly, and slice radishes and bell pepper thinly.
- For the dressing whisk together dressing ingredients. Adjust consistency with water (I used about 1/4 cup of water here).
Assembly
- Add cold soba noodles, zucchini, bell pepper, scallions, sprouts, black sesame seeds and the dressing to a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Divide soba noodles among bowls and top with radish slices, cilantro and crispy tofu. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Vegan
So much loving the sound of cornmeal tofu, and I bet it tastes as delicious as it looks. This noodle bowl looks scrumptious, Evi.
Thanks, Anu 🙂
I have a thing for soba, my favourite noodles! Love the combination of ingredients here.
I know what you mean, same with me 😉
Those tofu bites look so inviting, what a great idea to coat them with cornmeal, I really have to try this.
Thanks, Adina! It’s probably my favourite way to prepare tofu 🙂
Those tofu bites look super crisp! I would love this noodle bowl too.
Cornmeal just makes everything so nice and crispy, I love it!
Evi this bowl looks gorgeous! So colorful and delicious! Happy weekend!
xoxo Cailee
Thank you my dear!
Aww, it looks delicious. I like crispy tofu and noodles, so I know I would love this. xx
Thank you! Tofu and noodles are always a good combo 😉
That tofu looks incredible Evi! I’ve never tried cornmeal covered tofu, but this is definitely something I will be doing soon!!!
Super simple meals are my favourite, you don’t need to overthink them or spend ages preparing, this is just a perfect week day dinner idea!
Hope you are having fun in Prague! x
Thanks, Anna! Prague was super cool, it’s my new favourite city for vegan eats 😉
And I totally agree with everything you said. Fancy things are cool but nothing beats a quick and simple meal!
Amazing recipe and photo! Y U M ! Thanks for this! Do you use firm tofu for this?
Thanks, Balvinder!
Yes, I use firm or extra firm tofu, the smoked version is especially good here 😉
What a beautiful bowl, Evi! I do love soba although I haven’t made any for a really long time. And what a great idea to handle tofu! It might be a little tricky to properly cook it cause it might get soggy (I know, you’ve got to drain it well first…but I’m so impatient hah). But this idea to cover tofu in sesame seeds and cornmeal is something serious here! Not only does it give a delicious flavor, but it must introduce a lovely crunch. And you baked it! Yeeees. I totally making this tofu for one of my salads. Thanks!
Thanks, Ben!
I love baking tofu, but I know what you mean with soggy tofu….so annoying….my boyfriend actually prefers to deep-fry these, they get extra crunchy that way 😉
This cornmeal tofu seems so appetizing and mouth-watering! This bowl will be on my table for my next lunch, Evi!
Yay! I hope you’ll like it 🙂
That looks amazinggg! I love the idea of coating the tofu with cornmeal!
Thanks, Jenny 🙂