Description
Zen Noodle Bowl- loaded up with fresh seasonal veggies and a delicious Ponzu Dressing, this healthy bowl can be made with seared ahi tuna or sesame ginger tofu. Vegan and Grain-free adaptable! ( Try it with zucchini noodles!)
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dry soba noodles ( or rice, rice noodles, GF noodles, or cooked zucchini noodles)
- 6 ounces ahi tuna or tofu ( see notes)
- 1–2 tablespoons coconut or high temp cooking oil
- 2 radishes ( watermelon radishes are pretty)
- 1 Turkish cucumber, sliced ( or carrot, shredded)
- 1/2 avocado, sliced
- garnish- scallions, chives, chive blossoms
- handful sprouts- sunflower or daikon are nice
- other options: grated veggies like carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, beets, snow or snap peas, edamame, fresh peas, daikon, baby spinach or greens.
Sesame crust
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion or garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar ( optional, helps caramelize)
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
Ponzu Dressing:
- 1/4 cup orange juice ( juice from 1/2 an orange)
- 1/8 cup soy sauce or GF Liquid Aminos or coconut aminos. ( Smoked shoyu is nice too)
- 1/4 cup mirin ( or sub a mix of 2 teaspoons honey and 3 tablespoons water)
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1/8 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon hondashi granules ( optional- adds a nice smoky depth, but not vegan)
- pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
Cook noodles according to directions, drain and set aside.
While noodles are cooking, pat dry tuna. Mix the Sesame Crust ingredients together on a small plate and coat all sides of tuna, pressing it firmly into the flesh. See notes for tofu.
Make the dressing, set aside.
Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet until smoking hot. You want the pan to be very hot- in order to create the golden crust, without cooking the ahi all the way through. Sear all sides of the tuna for 45-60 seconds on each side, or until the crust is golden. Remove from heat and place on paper towel. Let stand 5 minutes. With a sharp chefs knife, slice across grain into 6-8 thin pieces. The goal is to have the inside nice and rare and but the outside seared and crispy. The secret is the very hot pan. 🙂
Divide the noodles among two bowls. Divide the ahi, cucumber, radishes, avocado and sprouts among the two bowls. Sprinkle veggies and noodles with a little salt. Top with scallions or chives or chive blossoms.
Spoon a generous amount of Ponzu dressing over top and serve ( you most likely won’t need all the dressing)
Notes
If keeping this vegan, serve it up with Sesame Ginger Baked Tofu or simple pan-seared tofu, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 493
- Sugar: 12.3 g
- Sodium: 1261.6 mg
- Fat: 21.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 51.1 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 25.7 g
- Cholesterol: 26.6 mg