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This Cold Sesame Ginger Soba Noodle Salad with Shrimp is packed-full of veggies and protein to make a delicious and satisfying meal. It’s perfect for BBQs, picnics of even lunch on the run! It’s also gluten-free!
You know what drives me bonkers?! False advertising. I get the concept of needing to sell a product, but marketing your jelly beans as fat-free isn’t cool. You know what turns into fat? Sugar. You know what the main ingredient in jelly beans is? Sugar. I apologize in advance for this post becoming a full-on rant.
Let’s rewind for a minute here. It’s a beautiful day and I decide to get my grocery shop on. I put together my list, grab my bundle buggy and head to the store. Sometimes I get inspired when I’m there and as I was looking for tamari, my eyes glazed over a pack of soba noodles. Hmmmm cold soba noodle salad sounded good so I made an impulse buy and headed home.
When I got home from the store it was lunchtime so I decided to put together the salad. As I was pulling out all of the ingredients I think I want to use for the salad, I glanced across the soba noodle packaging only to notice that the first ingredient in them was enriched wheat flour <–SAY WHAT? I was livid. Not only was I a) hangry and b) experiencing an intense craving which needed to be fulfilled immediately, but I truly felt deceived. The front of the package says “Buckwheat Soba Noodles” so naturally you would expect them to be made from buckwheat? Okay fine buckwheat was the second and only other ingredient but still…
Instead I had to put aside my craving until I could make it to a health food store to pick up some legit buckwheat noodles. The people at Vibrant Lifestyle (I love it there!) were not only nice enough to listen to my rant but also taught me to always look for 100% buckwheat noodles. Nonetheless, I still have some pent up anger.
Other types of false advertising that drives me nuts: When multigrain is just a combo of white and whole-wheat, “made with corn!” aka high-fructose corn syrup, or when companies fool consumers into thinking their product is healthy because it is labeled as gluten-free. I could go on and on but in my attempts to keep this space a positive place, I’ll stop. For now, I urge you to read more into the products you buy. I’m not talking calories, but look at the ingredients! And try not to come home with enriched wheat flour soba noodles…
Cold Sesame Ginger Soba Noodle Salad with Shrimp
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 package of 100% buckwheat soba noodles (8 oz)
- 1 bell pepper, sliced
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- ½ pound cooked shrimp, deveined and peeled
For The Sesame Ginger Dressing:
- 1 T finely minced ginger root
- 1 T sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 1/2 T honey
- 2 T rice wine vinegar
- 2 T tamari
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 T sesame seeds (for topping)
Instructions
- Cook buckwheat noodles according to package instructions.
- Run noodles under cold water until completely cool.
- In a large bowl add noodles, bell pepper, bean sprouts and shrimp.
- In a separate bowl combine all ingredients for the sesame ginger dressing.
- Pour onto noodle mixture and top with sesame seeds.
- Serve cold.
- Will keep for several days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
Can you clarify the amount of tamari? The ingredients say 2 T cup?
sorry about that Kit! It should be tablespoons, NOT cups! Fixed. Thanks for pointing this out!
This is why I never buy low fat or low sugar anything. Give me the real deal, and I bet it satisfies me more which means I need less of it and my craving is actually satisfied.
Check out olive oil the next time you’re at the store. Most are actually a mixture of different oils, which can only be seen by reading the fine print, the ingredients. It’s all shenanigans, I tell you.
I totally understand your frustration with all that false advertising! It especially drives me crazy when people assume “gluten free” is automatically healthy! Ahhhh on the bright side, this recipe looks delicious 🙂 Super refreshing on a hot summer day!
And that’s the very reason I have yet to try buckwheat soba. Because yes, I’ve seen soba noodles before – only that sneaky label didn’t deserve to say buckwheat but more like: traces of buckwheat. I honestly wonder if these companies have ever been sued by somebody with a gluten intolerance. Maybe when they ordered a buckwheat noodle dish at a restaurant assuming the pasta was okay or when others cooked for them assuming the same?
The ‘fat-free’ tag? We don’t even need to talk about that. Hello, tons of sugar making up for the lack of delicious natural fat. Another claim that really bugs me is ‘free of flavour enhancers’ when there’s stupid yeast extract in just about every single one of those products. Summing up: yes, it drives me nuts, too.
Hhaha oh man well that’s the food companies for you. Trust no one!
Omggggg I could rant and rave for hours about this topic. Like when I saw bright green sugar-free snow cone syrup at the store complete with artificial colors and flavors (duh), HFCS, and a trillion other gross chemicals. Buckwheat noodles with enriched flour are especially ridic since people wanting those are often gluten-free! I mean hellooooo! PS why must buckwheat noodles cost me half my paycheck??! Love these noodlies and love you.