I love soba noodles.

Last Saturday while looking at the stuff that I had stashed away in the pantry, I noticed a big package of soba that I bought a while ago at the Sunset Super and promptly forgot about. Earlier that same rainy day, we had been to Sun Fat fish market, but, oddly, I was uninspired. I got my groove back at Whole Foods where I found these amazingly fresh tuna steaks. And the rest was history on the plate!

soba noodles with pan grilled tuna and nori kizami

I had read about this interesting recipe somewhere but couldn’t quite place it so I tried to reproduce it from memory. Normally I eat soba cold, but the weather was cold and I wasn’t feeling a cold dinner. Steven and Xanthe, my usual guinea pigs, loved it. I’m going to make it again soon because I enjoyed it too.

It’s a very simple recipe despite the number of required ingredients. Once you prep everything, it’s a breeze to make.

soba or buckwheat noodles are a key ingredient for this dish

Soba Noodles with Pan Grilled Tuna and Nori Kizami

2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp grated ginger
8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup rice vinegar
2/3 cup light soy sauce
1 cup vegetable broth
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ bunch scallions in slices
Zest from ½ lemon

1lb soba noodles
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil

2 tuna steaks (sushi grade)
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Juice of half lemon
2 tbsp canola oil

Nori kizami “sea vegetable” strips to garnish

How to make the sauce:

Heat the olive oil in a deep pan. Add ginger and sauté for a minute then add garlic and continue sautéing for a couple more minutes until fragrant. Add jalapeño pepper and sugar followed by rice vinegar, soy sauce, water, lemon zest and black pepper. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add scallions, reserving a couple tablespoons for garnishing later. Set aside.

To prepare the noodles:

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook soba for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Drain without rinsing. Transfer it to serving bowl and toss with olive oil and soy sauce

To prepare tuna:

Sprinkle both sides of tuna with salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over the fish. Drizzle some of the oil over steaks. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil to high temperature in a skillet. Place steaks on hot skillet and cook at high temp for 5 minutes without touching or moving them. Flip and cook approximately 4 minutes on the other side. The tuna steaks will be charred on the outside and pinkish/red on the inside (that’s how it should be!) Place them on a chopping board and cut steaks into ¼ inch thick slices.

soba noodles with seared tuna

To assemble:

Either serve sauce on the side or just pour it over noodles. For individual plates, place a pile of soba on the dish then some tuna slices. Sprinkle with scallions and “sea vegetable” strips. I used nori kizami strips. If you plan on serving this family style, just prepare one large platter in the same way using all ingredients.