Tomatoes, lettuce leaves, mozzarella & co. have to watch out now because a Japanese noodle dish is currently conquering the world: Otsu – a salad that puts the taste buds in ecstasy and is child’s play to prepare. The hype surrounding the traditional soba noodle dish is spreading like a virus on social media. There is hardly a blogger who hasn’t tried Otsu and new fans are joining them every day.
This is Otsu:
The basic ingredients are simple: Japanese soba noodles meet coriander, cucumber, and crispy tofu – refined with oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame. The result is Otsu, a vegan salad for practically every situation, because it tastes great both warm and cold, making it the perfect gift for a picnic or visiting friends.
This is why Otsu is healthy:
The main ingredient in otsu is, of course, soba noodles. The Japanese variety is made from buckwheat and is therefore gluten-free. If you want to be sure that the soba noodles in the Asian store really do not contain gluten, you should take a look at the list of ingredients on the packaging before buying.
The pseudo-grain variety contains a lot of protein as well as potassium, iron, and magnesium. The latter mineral is u. a. important for muscle relaxation and energy metabolism. Due to its high protein content, tofu is a popular food for vegetarians and vegans. The soy protein is better digestible for humans than other vegetable proteins and contains all essential amino acids.
The Otsu Recipe:
Depending on personal taste, an otsu can of course be less spicy or prepared without coriander. Here are the ingredients and the quick six steps to Otsu Salad:
For the Otsu dressing:
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
- Zest 1 organic lemon
- 2 tsp honey or agave syrup
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 60 ml brown rice vinegar
- 80 ml soy sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
For the otsu salad:1/2 bunch coriander
- 3 spring onions
- 1/2 cucumber
- 300 g soba noodles
- 4 tbsp sesame seeds
- 300 g firm tofu
The preparation:
- For the Otsu salad dressing, grate the ginger and mix with the zest of the lemon, honey (or agave syrup), and cayenne pepper. Then stir in lemon juice, salt, rice vinegar, soy sauce, olive, and sesame oil.
- For the otsu salad, wash the coriander, spring onions, and cucumber. Roughly chop the cilantro and set aside a handful for garnish. Cut the spring onions into fine slices. Halve the cucumber lengthways, deseed and cut into thin slices.
- Cook the soba noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente, about 4 minutes. Then drain, rinse with cold water and drain.
- Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, then set aside.
- Dry the tofu and cut it into small cubes. Then fry in a pan with a little oil until golden brown on all sides.
- In a large bowl, toss the soba noodles with the vegetables, cilantro, and dressing. Then add the tofu and garnish with the remaining coriander and sesame seeds.
