Vegan Zaru Soba

II’ll show you how to make this simple Vegan Zaru Soba recipe with just a few easy-to-find ingredients! Zaru Soba (ざるそば) is a simple and refreshing Japanese dish made with chilled soba (buckwheat) noodles served with a savoury dipping sauce called tsuyu.

Traditional tsuyu is often made with dashi from bonito flakes. To make this recipe completely plant-based, I use dried kelp and shiitake mushrooms to create a deep and savoury, umami Vegan Tsuyu broth without any fish.

These noodles are served cold with the homemade vegan tsuyu dipping sauce, plus optional toppings like green onion, grated daikon, shredded nori and cucumber.

Recipe for Vegan Zaru Soba

Zaru Soba is a simple and super satisfying dish especially on a hot summer day, when you need a refreshing and light dish that doesn’t require much work in the kitchen. All you need are some easy-to-find ingredients such as soy sauce, mirin, dried kelp and shiitake mushrooms, along with some soba noodles.

The best part is that once you make the Vegan Tsuyu Sauce, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. This means you can have an easy meal ready to go whenever you’re craving something light, refreshing and delicious. All you have to do is boil some soba noodles!

To serve, simply dip a bite-sized amount of the cold soba noodles into the Vegan Tsuyu Sauce and enjoy. Use whatever condiments you prefer, I personally love to add lots of green onions, grated daikon, a little wasabi and some sesame seeds.

Why You’ll Love this Vegan Zaru Soba

• 100% vegan & vegetarian friendly
• Can be made gluten-free or soy-free!
• Quick and easy recipe
• Fresh, light, and savoury
• Cold noodle dish perfect for hot days

Ingredients

• Soba noodles

• Green onions

• Dried kelp

• Dried shiitake mushroom

• Soy sauce

• Mirin

• Sugar (optional)

• Grated daikon radish (optional)

• Shredded nori (optional)

• Julienned cucumber (optional)

• Sesame seeds (optional)

• Wasabi (optional)

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To make this recipe gluten-free, use 100% buckwheat soba noodles and use a gluten-free soy sauce. Many soba noodles contain wheat, so make sure to find a gluten-free version.

To make this recipe soy-free, use a soy-free alternative to soy sauce such as coconut aminos. Keep in mind that this will slightly change the flavour of the dipping sauce.

If you don’t have dried shiitake mushrooms, you can simply omit (you could add a few more pieces of dried kelp, if desired).

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How To Make Vegan Zaru Soba

To make the Vegan Tsuyu Sauce, add water, kelp and shiitake mushroom into a pot and let it soak for at least 15 minutes.

Add soy sauce and mirin and bring to a boil. Right before it comes to a full boil, remove the kelp.

Once boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the shiitake mushrooms and pour the broth into a heat-safe jar or container and place into the fridge to cool down. Store this sauce in the fridge for up to 2 weeks to enjoy later – this broth recipe should make around 4-6 servings.

Boil soba noodles, according to instructions, then rinse them thoroughly in cold running water. Drain.

Prepare desired condiments such as grated daikon radish, shredded nori, and/or julienned cucumber.

Place cold soba noodles onto a plate and top with nori (optional), cucumber (optional), and sesame seeds (optional).

Pour around 1/4 – 1/3 cup of prepared dipping sauce into a small bowl per serving (add 2-3 ice cubes if not fully cold). Add green onions, wasabi (optional) and grated radish (optional) and mix with chopsticks.

To eat, pick up a bite-sized amount of noodles then dip into the sauce, swirl around and enjoy!

NEED MORE VEGAN RECIPE INSPO? CHECK THESE OUT:

Vegan Yaki Udon

Asian Buddha Bowl

Edamame Poke Bowl