Light and refreshing cold soba noodles with crispy tempura. I’M HAVING THIS THE WHOLE SUMMER!
Yes, I’m back with another cold noodle recipe. When I think of cold noodles, soba is the top thing on my list. I mean, how can it not be? It’s light, refreshing, and SUPER easy and quick to make. It’s also considered healthy because it’s gluten free as it’s made out of buckwheat flour, full of healthy proteins, and helps balance your blood sugar. So many good benefits, wow.
I wanted to upgrade this meal by adding something delicate, because just plain soba noodles are so boring. I need some sort of protein to go with it too. I have a lot of frying mix, so I decided to deep fry my vegetables and shrimps to make tempura. Best decision I’ve ever made.
Remember to keep the tempura batter COLD so that your tempura becomes crispy. Note: the tempura crisps up when they start to cool after they’re removed from the oil.
I made my own tempura dipping sauce (tentsuyu) for this and used it for dipping in the soba noodles as well (because I felt lazy). Remember to just dip in the noodles BRIEFLY because the sauce is salty, so don’t be dipping in the noodles for a long time. Alternatively, you can also purchase tentsuyu at any Asian grocery store in replace of the homemade dipping sauce (I also do that sometimes when I feel even more lazy).
Winter is for tempura udon, and summer is for zaru soba with tempura (aka tenzaru). A delicate meal enjoyed at home.
If you do try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give it a rating! I’d also love to see your creations so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Zaru Soba with Crispy Tempura
Ingredients
Tempura Coating
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Tempura Batter
- 1½ cup frying mix
- 1 cup cold water
- A few ice cubes
Tempura
- Neutral oil for frying
- Kabocha squash (thickness of 0.5 cm)
- Sweet potato (thickness of 0.5 cm)
- Shrimps (peeled and deveined, leave the tail on)
Assembling
- 2 servings of soba noodles
- Nori strips
- Tempura
- Soba & Tempura Dipping Sauce (Tentsuyu) (recipe here)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped green onion
- 2 tbsp daikon (grated)
- Wasabi
Instructions
Tempura Coating
- Combine the ingredients together in a wide dish.
Tempura Batter
- Whisk in the cold water (cold makes the tempura crispier) into the frying mix until it has a smooth consistency. Add in the ice cubes and keep the batter COLD so that the tempura becomes extra crispy.
Tempura
- Prepare the tempura by slicing the vegetables. For the shrimp, make tiny scores on the bottom of the shrimp, and also on one of the sides. Make sure to not cut too deep. Gently pull it apart to make the shrimp straight. Repeat for the remaining shrimp.
- In a medium-sized pot, heat up the neutral oil for frying until it reaches to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Start off with the vegetables first. Coat the vegetables with the flour coating, and then dust off excess flour. Dip into the wet tempura batter. Deep fry for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. Do not overcrowd the pot. Transfer to a wired rack or a plate lined with paper towel to drain excess oil.
- For the shrimp: Coat the shrimp with the flour coating, and then dust off excess flour. Dip into the wet tempura batter. Grab the shrimp by the tail with chopsticks or heat proof tongs, and gently place into the heated oil, while making a swirling motion (this makes the shrimp straight). Deep fry for 2 minutes, until golden brown. Do not overcrowd the pot. Transfer to a wired rack or a plate lined with paper towel to drain excess oil.
Assembling
- Cook the soba noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water with your hands to get rid of the excess starch. Sieve and place on serving plates/bowls. Place the nori strips on top.
- Dipping Sauce: Reserve half for soba noodles and the other half for the tempura.For the one for soba: add in the green onion, grated daikon, and wasabi (adjust to your preference) and mix together.
- Dip the soba noodles in the sauce briefly and slurp! Dip the tempura in the other half of the tentsuyu and enjoy!
Notes
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