Every time I enter the noodle aisle in ranch market, I get blown away with the different varieties that are available. It’s a Chinese market. That should explain it all and yet, it leaves me gawking and wondering if I dedicate a whole month to just noodles, will I be able to cover it all? Truth is, I seriously doubt it! From thick to thin, from flat to round, from straight to curly, you name it and it might just be there, sitting silently to be relished.
At times, it's not always easy to locate the thing you want. We walked back and forth the aisle, looking left, right and left again. And finally, there it was, color matching to my nail polish, thin, straight, three bundles tightly packed in a transparent cover that read organic Soba - authentic Japanese buckwheat noodle.
You are famous I know, but all this effort! You better be worth it, I thought.
It took me a while, few failed attempts before I started to consider it as a must-have-in-my-pantry item. I find it similar to spaghetti, barely takes any time to boil and can be blended effortlessly with any kind of sauce. An always-easy choice is my favorite garlic lemon sauce but this time, I took the gourmet route and served soba noodle with mini scallops in tomato wine sauce. Let's ignore how long the name is and consider how yum it sounds!
The sauce takes a while to get ready. Simmering tomato puree with onion, spices and red or white wine allows the flavor to mix while making the sauce rich. Once that is done, frying the scallops and boiling the noodle takes about four to five minutes. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro, drizzle little bit on lemon juice on top and it’s ready.
The scallop in wine sauce is incredible with bread as well. I would say, make some extra for next day. We topped it on crusty bread and it made a great bruschetta recipe. If you are not a seafood person, I guess you could use some firm pan-fried tofu in its place and if you don’t like wine, leave that aside and just make a tangy tomato sauce with vinegar. But if you like a boozy sauce and enjoy scallop, give this dish a shot. The nutty flavored noodle with the spicy rich sauce and soft scallop bite in between makes it a delightful meal.
Soba Noodle with Scallop in Wine Sauce
Ingredients
for the sauce
- ½ medium onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 cups tomato puree
- ¼ cup white or red wine of your choice
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil
- salt to taste
rest of the ingredients
- 6 ounce soba noodle
- ½ pound mini scallops
- 2 red chilies (thinly sliced (optional))
- fresh cilantro (chopped for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat some oil and sauté chopped onion along with garlic. Don’t let it turn brown. Add tomato puree, chili flakes, salt, freshly cracked black pepper and give it a mix. Add wine, bring the heat to medium low and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and the flavor has infused.
- In the mean time, heat a pan with one tablespoon oil and fry the scallops, about 2 minutes one ach side.
- Once done, add fried scallop to the saucepan with tomato wine sauce along with diced red chilies and give it a mix.
- Cover the saucepan and cook for one more minute. Switch off the heat and keep it aside.
- Once you are ready to serve, boil the noodle as per the instructions mentioned in the package.
- Pour the mini scallops with wine sauce in a big salad bowl. Once the noodles are done which should take about 4 minutes, drain the noodles and add it to the same salad bowl. Give it a toss to mix everything.
- Sprinkle chopped cilantro, drizzle a little bit of lemon juice and serve warm.
Notes
- Make a vegetarian version by substituting scallops with pan fried tofu.
- Wine makes the sauce taste rich but if you don't like wine, you can avoid it and add vinegar instead.
- The mini scallops in tomato wine sauce can be made in advance and they taste even better the next day. It works great with crusty bread on the side.
Nutrition
ahu
i adore soba noodles - this dish looks so fresh and yummy!
thyme (Sarah)
Beautiful! I LOVE that last photo.
IshitaUnblogged
Hmmm... too high-spirited nowadays after Bro's wedding? Vodka and now Wine. What's next? Whiskey? I think I've mentioned this a few hundred times, your shot of the vermicelli sticks (the Soba noodles in this case!) is absolutely mindblowing... along with the other photographs. If you are using Cilantro, maybe a dash of lime would be a nice addition?
Elvira
You've convinced me to the point that I absolutely need to make this! The pictures are stunningly beautiful.
Nami | JOC
I need to be more creative with soba as I have only eaten in typical (boring) Japanese way. Your scallops in wine sauce made me excited. Making extra sounds like a great plan indeed. Love the red back drop and blue fabric. Beautiful styling and photos!
Angie@Angiesrecipes
Lots of scallops!! A beautiful and mouthwatering soba dish.
Soma
Fell in love with the pictures and anything cooked with scallops cannot go wrong.
CrunchyCreamySweet
This is such a beautiful dish! I need to get pass my fear of cooking scallops and make this!
jehanne
Looks totally yum! I think I take soba noodles for granted due to the excess availability here, that is until I see how beautiful they turned out in your dish!
Marie|Little Kitchie
You just combined all my favorite things : soba, scallops and wine! Definitely trying this!
Colette @ JFF!
These pics make me so hungry, I wish I had a bowl now!
Rad na, that's my weakness.
Reem
Beautiful. .... This tastes so Yummm. ..
I totally have to make this recipe. ..
B/w I loved reading this post. .. Now im thinking how gorgeous your nail polish shade must be 😉
nags
you make messy look good 🙂
Rosa
I love noodles and always come out of my Asian supermarket with loads of them...
This dish looks and sounds marvelous! That is such an interesting combination.
Cheers,
Rosa
Nandita
Noodles is my weakness. I can have them anytime. This recipe looks so very tempting with those gorgeous clicks 🙂
Ira Rodrigues
What a beautiful dish! now im thinking of my green tea soba with your scallops sauce:)
Nash at Plateful
Sounds gorgeous! Love the shot of soba!!
indugetscooking
That noodles market sounds so wonderful. Love the dish you have plated up!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
Absolutely love this! The soba noodles, the scallops, the sauce... perfection!
Sneh | Cook Republic
Such a gorgeous dish!! I need to cook with scallops, love em'!