A seriously tasty bowl of noodle goodness! These Beef Soba Noodles are dressed with a fantastic dressing reminiscent of traditional Japanese soba sauce. Quick to make, you’ll have this on the table in just 15 minutes. Fantastic for hot summer nights or a midweek dinner option, and a great way to make a little bit of steak stretch further!
Here’s the thing about Asian families (I’m betting we aren’t the only Asian family with this attitude!). When it comes to faux Asian food (modern / contemporary / fusion Asian), we are snobs. We love it when it’s done right. But there’s a line – and if it’s on the wrong side of that line, we turn our noses up at it.
So when I announced that I was going to make a “faux Asian beef soba” meal for a family dinner, the response was……well, underwhelming. Dubious is a fair word to describe their response.
In my family, we are each others greatest supporters and greatest critics in everything we do. We are always appreciative of effort, but we ain’t beating around the bush when it comes to food.
Too salty, not seasoned enough, the pasta’s not al dente, the Ragu isn’t rich enough, the roast potatoes could be crunchier, I’m the Roast Beef Queen, you’re the Pasta King, you’re the Queen of Salads….and so on.
Tough crowd!!! But it’s always said in good jest and we are always very complimentary as well. We like to say it’s constructive feedback. And we all give it as good as we get!
As for their response to this Beef Soba Noodle Bowl? They were shocked. Shocked at how good it is!!!
So as you can imagine, I was gloating away, grinning smugly as everyone scoffed it down. (Yes, we relish our victories, yes we are all that immature). SCORED!
PS Just to assure you, none of us are like this in real life outside of family dinners!!!
This has long since been my favourite way to serve up beef and soba. Actually, it’s the only beef and soba recipe I make.
In typical Asian form, one of the things I really like about this recipe is that you only need a small amount of beef. Very different approach to the Western way of cooking huge slabs of steak the size of my head (which, to be clear, I enjoy just as much as this Beef Soba Noodle Bowl!).
For this recipe I’ve used a very familiar cut – rump steak. It’s probably the steak cut I use the most because it’s great value for the quality you get. A quick sear, few minutes of resting then you have a beautiful tender, juicy steak to dig in to. YUM!
The dressing for this Beef Soba Noodle Bowl is really lovely, it reminds me of the sauce for traditional Japanese Soba but it has a stronger flavour so it’s more similar to a salad dressing rather than a Japanese soba dipping sauce. If you are after a traditional Japanese Soba recipe, my mother has shared her Zaru Soba recipe (traditional Cold Soba Noodles) – the ultimate hot weather noodle dish!
With just a wee bit of multi tasking, this is a super quick dinner you can get on the table in 15 minutes. Just get the water boiling while you cook the steak, then while the steak is resting, make the dressing and cook the soba and beans.
See? Totally manageable. And just to really show you how simple this is, there’s a quick recipe video below. ? Nagi xx
A fusion Japanese soba noodle dish with an amazing dressing that matches perfectly with the juicy steak slices and for slurping up the soba noodles. Fantastic quick meal for hot summer nights!
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, light or ordinary (Note 1)
- 2 1/2 tbsp peanut oil
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp mirin (Note 3)
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp ginger, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 200g/7 oz rump or sirloin beef steak, excess fat trimmed (Note 4)
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 6oz/180g soba (Note 5)
- 6oz/200g green beans, trimmed
- 1 scallion/shallot, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp crispy Asian Shallots (Note 6)
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Take the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking (or 15 minutes if it's a stinking hot summer day).
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Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake.
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Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat until smoking, then cook the steak to your liking. I like mine medium rare - perfect for absorbing the flavours of the delicious dressing - so I cook this rump steak for 2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute 45 seconds on the second side.
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Transfer to a plate and loosely cover with foil. Rest for 5 minutes, then slice into fairly thin slices against the grain (i.e. find the direction of the fibres then cut at a 90 degree angle straight through them).
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Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Cook the soba according to packet instructions (usually 5 minutes). For the last 1 minute of cooking, add the green beans.
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Drain the noodles and beans and rinse under cold water to stop them from cooking further and to cool the noodles. Roughly separate beans from noodles.
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To serve, divide the noodles between 2 bowls, top with the beans then the steak slices. Drizzle with the dressing (over the steak and noodles), then garnish with shallot slices and Crispy Asian Shallots.
1. I use Kikkoman soy sauce, which is an all purpose soy sauce. You can also use light soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is not suitable - flavour is way too strong.
2. Rice vinegar can be substituted with white wine vinegar (same amount) or normal white vinegar but reduce to 1½ tbsp.
3. Mirin is a sweetened Japanese rice wine which is now readily available throughout Australia even at supermarkets. If you cannot consume alcohol, this can be substituted with 1 tsp honey and 2 tsp white wine vinegar.
4. This can be made with any quick grilling cut of beef. I like making this with rump and sirloin.
5. In Australia, soba noodles come in 9oz/270g packets and come bundled in 3oz/90g bundles (1 serving).
6. Crispy Asian Shallots (deep fried salted slices of shallots) really are the perfect finish for this dish, they provide texture and flavour. They can be purchased from Asian grocery stores or the Asian section of most major supermarkets in Australia. They are addictive and I put them on many things - like into salads
7. The majority of the calories in this recipe are from the soba noodles. 3oz/90g dried soba is quite a generous serving.
8. Inspired by a recipe by Anna Gare, an Australian TV cook. I can't remember the source, possibly I wrote the recipe down while watching one of her shows!
9. Beef Soba Noodle Bowl nutrition per serving.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
No beef for Dozer! How about a bean instead? 😉
IF YOU LIKED THIS RECIPE, TRY THIS!
15 Minute Asian Steak – with a sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya!
Today’s recipe is brought to you in partnership with You’re Better on Beef, celebrating Australian beef. Because Aussie beef rocks, it’s perfect for super quick dinners and we should eat more of it!!
Hi! It’s been a year now since I first found & made your beef soba noodle recipe. I love it!! I make it often & always excited each time I make it. I make it for family visitors too! I have to try your other recipes! 5 Stars!
Hi! It’s been a year now since I first found & made your beef soba noodle recipe. I love it!! I make it often & always excited each time I make it. I make it for family visitors too! I have to try your other recipes!
Omg 😮 I thought I was in heaven after eating that dish…..
Perfection (although I doubled the amount of sauce)
My husband now wants us to go to Japan!!
As a coincidence, at the same time I discovered your website,few months ago, I also decided to learn Japanese (one of my nicest students in my classes-am a French teacher- enticed me to learn it).
Am in love with everything Japanese and you are making so easy for me to dare cooking dishes from your heritage. (Been afraid for so long to touch this cuisine!)
You are a gem.
Forgot to click on stars: best ever!
While eating this the family requested I make this on a regular basis 🙂
We like our beans al dente, I had haricot vert but actually added them at the same time as the noodles and they and the noodles were just perfect after 4 minutes of cooking. I have not read any comments about the beans being hard after a minute of cooking, kind of wondering how they can be good after a minute.
I doubled the recipe, 4 persons, but added only 4 tablespoons of oil which was good for us and was still plenty of dressing for all 4 bowls.
Do have a comment about the garlic though, I added 1 large clove, 2 I thought would be too much, but during the evening every-one commented on the awful taste of garlic in their mouths. So maybe might need to do some-thing with it that the rawness is less.
By the way did not rinse the noodles and did not seperate the beans from the noodles. BUT we did eat it straight away and adding the sauce quickly prevents the noodles sticking anyway.
Hi Rose! The recipe just says 1 garlic clove, not 1 large, or 2?? Am I missing something here? Glad everyone enjoyed it though!! N x
Hi Nagi,
I am afraid you are: I wrote “I doubled the recipe, 4 persons’ so should have added 2 garlic cloves.
The 2nd try of your 3 layer custard cake is now in the oven WITH the correct flour 🙂
I added the beans to the noodles half way through cooking time. Drained and rinsed very briefly under cold water. Put noodles and beans into serving plates, topped with grated carrots (raw) then sliced beef, sauce and fried shallots.
I doubled every ingredients for the sauce. I don’t bother with raw garlic. I just use organic crushed garlic from a jar and use 1tsp for each clove requested.
Super healthy and delicious dish!
Hi Nagi,
Just wanted to say I absolutely LOVE all your recipes. I find them so easy to follow and always delicious!
This one was particularly good though. I’m working my way through all your recipes and can’t wait.
xx
Love hearing that Kim!! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know – N x ❤️
Hi
Never tried this dish before but tried your recipe. I am ok with it but Hubby said it was too sour (vinegar taste) for his liking.
Could you please describe the exact taste of it (sauce/dressing) orsome info so that I know whether I am right on track
Hi Amanda! I definitely would not describe the dressing as sour, it is a nice balance of sour, sweet and savoury. Are you sure you measured the ingredients correctly and used the right vinegar?? N x