Ready to pack a picnic? Try cold soba, Japanese buckwheat noodles. Preparing the noodles and sauce the day before makes for a deliciously simple picnic lunch. Remember to pack some wasabi, furikake (seasoning of sesame seeds and seaweed) and green onions for serving.
You can buy both dried soba and the appropriate tsuyu (soup base) at an Asian market or you can easily make your own sauce with a few basic ingredients. Find out how in this previous post. After rinsing cooked noodles in cold water and draining, I would toss the noodles in a little sauce and green onions before refrigerating for a picnic. Pack additional sauce on the side.
Blanched green beans, refrigerated after tossing with sesame oil and sesame seeds are a nice colorful veggie accompaniment. Panko crusted fried shrimp, scallops and squid rounded out the dish pictured here, but for a picnic I would be just as happy with cold citrus marinated seafood or even a can of sardines or smoked herring. Keep it as simple as possible when packing a picnic. That’s what makes it fun!
In case soba is new to you, here’s a picture of a package.
Shopping List for Cold Soba Picnic:
- soba noodles
- tsuyu
- green onions
- wasabi
- furikake
- green beans
- sesame oil
- sesame seeds
- cold or canned seafood of your choice
What’s your favorite cold picnic food to pack?