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, youโll 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!
Hereโs the thing about Asian families (Iโm betting we arenโt 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 itโs done right. Butย thereโs a line โ and if itโs 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 โfaux Asian beef sobaโ meal for a family dinner, the response wasโฆโฆwell, underwhelming.ย Dubiousย 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 areย always appreciative of effort, but we ainโt beating around the bush when it comes to food.
Too salty, not seasoned enough, the pastaโs not al dente, theย Raguย isnโt rich enough, theย roast potatoesย could be crunchier, Iโm the Roast Beef Queen, youโre the Pasta King, youโre the Queen of Saladsโฆ.and so on.
Tough crowd!!! But itโs always said in good jest and we are always very complimentary as well. We like to say itโsย 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 atย 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,ย none of us are like this in real life outside of family dinners!!!
This has long since been myย favourite way to serve up beef and soba. Actually, itโs theย onlyย beef and soba recipe I make.
In typical Asian form, one of the things I really like about this recipe is thatย 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 muchย as this Beef Soba Noodle Bowl!).
Forย this recipeย Iโve used a very familiar cutย โย rump steak.ย Itโs probably the steak cut I use the most because itโs great value for the quality you get.ย A quick sear, few minutes of resting then you have a beautiful tender,ย juicyย 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 itโs 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 herย Zaru Sobaย recipe (traditional Cold Soba Noodles) โ 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, thereโs a quick recipe video below. ๐ Nagi xx
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Beef Soba Noodle Bowl with Green Beans
Ingredients
Dressing
- 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
Steak
- 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)
Instructions
- Take the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking (or 15 minutes if itโs a stinking hot summer day).
- Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat until smoking, then cook the steak to your liking. I like mine medium rare โ perfect for absorbing the flavours of the delicious dressing โ so I cook this rump steak for 2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute 45 seconds on the second side.ย
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
ย WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
No beef for Dozer! How about a bean instead? ๐
IF YOU LIKED THIS RECIPE, TRY THIS!
15 Minute Asian Steakย โ with a sauce inspired by the great Tetsuya!
Todayโs recipe is brought to you in partnership with Youโre Better on Beef, celebratingย Australian beef. Because Aussie beef rocks, itโs perfect for super quick dinners and we should eat more of it!!
I tried this, yum. Will do again.
Just a quick question. I have a visitor coming soon and he says he loves noodles for breakfast. Can you suggest something I could cook for him please. Thank you
Delicious, and I only had minute steaks.
Hey Nagi. I was wondering what would you think about, sayโฆ jazzing up the steak a bit with salt pepper, and maybe a bit of garlic when itโs in the pan?
Hi Raymond, I find the recipe great as is โ the flavour really is in the sauce that dresses the salad ๐ N x
We have a peanut allergy (and no other oil handy!) so just used olive oil. Yum! This is a keeper.
Iโm so glad you loved it Camille, thatโs great to hear!! N x
Hi nagi! Can I replace the peanut oil with sesame oil? Thanks!
Hi Ceecee, I wouldnโt replace the whole amount as it will overpower the dressing, you could certainly add a teaspoon though for flavour. N x
I have made this recipe with my 11 years old boy as we were looking for a Japanese inspired dish to cook noodles with steak. We used Welsh picahna and it was cooked beautiful! We used the veg I had in the fridge. Posted the pic @cristyraad
Thank you for yet another brilliant recipe! I made this for date night and we loved it! My partner doesnโt like beans, so I used steamed broccoli and bok choy instead and they went very nicely with the sauce. Will definitely be making this one again!
Iโm so glad you loved it Charlie!
Do you salt and pepper the beef before cooking?
Hi Vanessa, no I donโt season it, just sear it โ N x
Hi! Itโs 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! Itโs 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 ๐ฎ I thought I was in heaven after eating that dishโฆ..
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 ๐
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.
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 donโt 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 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 โI doubled the recipe, 4 personsโ 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 ๐
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. Iโm working my way through all your recipes and canโt wait.
xx
Love hearing that Kim!! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know โ N x โค๏ธ
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
I want to say this was my favorite recipe of yours, but all your recipes are amazing. This one was absolutely delicious. Didnโt have crispy shallots but fried up my own.
You just made my dayโฆ โค๏ธ N xx
When itโs 86 degrees with 55% humidity, this was the kind of food I wanted for dinner. Cool and simple. Thank you for the recipe.
Did Dozer eat the green bean? ๐
Thatโs fantastic to hear J-Mom! Thanks for letting me know โ N xx PS Yes of course. He eats EVERYTHING!!!๐
The dressing for this was MOST excellent! I added some random leftover veggies that I wanted to get out of the fridge: shredded carrots, sliced button mushrooms, some edamame, a little broccoli. I think you could put this dressing on any vegetables and it would be good. My teen boy added shredded cheddar to his bowl (he thinks itโs not a meal without cheese). Wouldnโt recommend that ;). But, he is happy.
Yes yes YES!!! So glad to hear you enjoyed it Kendra! N xx PS Errโฆ..cheese????
Made this last night, and the other half just kept saying โWow โฆ wow โฆโ he loved it so much!
What a great recipe, Nagi: quick, very tasty, fresh and not too punishing on the waistline! And economical too!
It will definitely be entering regular rotation at our place. Thank you!
Thatโs so fantastic to hear! Thanks for letting me know Anna ๐ N xx
Wow, this was absolutely annihilated by the whole family, 10 month old bub included. Spectacular โ has entered the rotation!
Do you think a bit of miso paste in the dressing would work? Just for that extra umami hit?
Annihilated โ ba ha ha!!! I love it! Miso paste would definitely add an extra something-something, Iโd reduce the soy sauce though. 1:1 i.e. if you add 1 tsp miso, reduce soy by 1 tsp. ๐ It will thicken it too.
Hi Nagi,
I just wanted you to know that this is now the 3rd weekend in a row (!!!) that Iโve made this LOL! I have no shame when it comes to eating something this tasty over and over again โ and my son isnโt complaining either (he who is a snob about about having to eat leftovers haha).
Thanks for posting this recipe โ Iโve been missing eating great-tasting Japanese food lately (faux or no, itโs still dang yummy!), and this hits the spot. ๐
You sound like ME!!! I make them over and over then I get sick of it and donโt make it for ages, then rediscover it and repeat! So pleased to hear your son enjoys this too!