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
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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 it’s 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 – 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.
- 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:
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 Nagi,
Was it meant to be 2.5 tsp of oil (instead of 2.5 tbsp) as I found it quite oily. Still, the flavours were awesome, the whole family enjoyed this meal!
Hi Christine! I can understand you might thing that if you were expecting a traditional Japanese Soba sauce!! The dressing for this is like a salad dressing so the oil to vinegar ratios are like that 🙂 You could definitely cut it back if you wanted to! N xx
Made it yesterday, it was delicious! Thank you!
I’ll certainly make it more often.
I am so super pleased to hear that Dr Kikker! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Oh yum! This was so delicious and the dressing was just perfect. I used sugar snap peas rather than beans as I’m not a bean fan, and it worked perfectly. The noodles were inhaled alarmingly quickly – always a good sign! I’ll definitely be back for more…thanks for another wonderful recipe Nagi!
FANTASTIC to hear Beck! Thank you so much for letting me know. Hope you have a great weekend! – N xx
This is my kind of dish because it’s easy, fast and full of flavors. Plus we can make it with any veggies we have or even leftovers of meat.
I would like to try it with chicken breast, and some other veggies like broccoli and carrots. Thanks !
Ooh YES to that! You got it right, it’s a great recipe base to use for almost any toppings you want! N xx
Made this last night with leftovers…steak, mushrooms, and roasted cauliflower. Took delicious sauce drizzled over soba noodles plus leftovers…VOILA ! A little taste of heaven. My houseguests enjoyed as well. Tonight I have some sauce left (I had tripled amount) I plan on using up soba noodles and will add sliced chicken instead of steak….I am in love with this recipe….Thanks
Hi Lyn – I’m just SO HAPPY to hear you enjoy this so much!! I am in love with it too 🙂 My family were seriously gob smacked the first time I made it for them!! N xx
Can you eat this cold…? Would it work for a picnic if I’d made it the night before? Thank you.
This was so good! Made it tonight and everyone loved it. I did the steak on the grill (because the weather in Florida is lovely right now) but everything else I made exactly as written. The sauce was delicious. I might keep that in my fridge all the time. Thanks for another great recipe!
AWESOME! I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this one Allyson, it’s a personal favourite! Hope you have a great weekend – N x
I really must thank you for an absolutely fantastic website.
Your recipes are varied, tasty and really great. I always enjoy getting your emails.
Many thanks
Thank you so much for your kind message Tony! I’m so pleased to hear you are enjoying my recipes – and thank you for reading! N xx
Just realized I double-posted; sorry!!!
No worries! N x
I just wanted to let you know that I keep coming back to this delicious and easy recipe! For anyone who is like me, the changes I make to put it in a biweekly rotation and not get bored are:
– Switching up the protein (the easiest and favorite so far seems to be salmon- yummy!)
– Adding different veggies (always add julienned carrots, but will add everything from broccoli to edamame to bean sprouts)
– Adding crushed peanuts
– Using sesame oil for the dressing
– Adding red pepper flakes or chiles (serrano or jalopenos)
Rock on, Nagi! Can’t wait to make your Gyoza tomorrow.
I’m so pleased to hear that Alex! Thanks for letting me know! N x PS Oooh, I hope you love the Gyoza! It’s my mum’s recipe!!
My partner and I love soba noodles, however we are both wheat intolerant, so get upset tummies if we eat them. I would try this recipe with rice noodles but first do you know if soba noodles are ever made with any other types of flour? I’ve scoured supermarkets and different Asian Grocery stores here in Adelaide but haven’t yet found any.
HI Donna! I’m sorry to say I don’t know of any 🙁 I would love to know if you find one though! N x
Hello again, I just thought to search this online and found there are 100% buckwheat noodles and also found a few clues as to where to find them in Adelaide. Sorry I didn’t think of this first. Thanks for the free cookbooks and ll the effort you go to maintaining your website.. Your recipes look so delicious and healthy. I will certainly be trying some.
Oh that so helpful Donna! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Yum! Would definitely consider adding some julienned carrots for extra crunch + veggie power 🙂
Great quick + easy meal
Great idea Alex! :)??
I am a teenager who cooked the beef and loved this dish!At first, when I tasted the dressing,it was too salty to my liking.But after I tried it with the noodles,the beef and the green beans,it was superb!
You ROCK! You’re way more advanced a cook than I was! 🙂 PS You’re right, as with most dressings, they are less salty once dressed because it stretches out 🙂
This was so delicious! We even made extra dressing
Virtual high five! YESSS!! So glad you enjoyed it Emily, thank you so much for coming back to let me know! N x
Can you serve the noodles warm? My family prefers warm noodles…
You sure can Brandi!
Made this for dinner last night after randomly coming across this recipe while searching for something else. Ms N, OMG. Wow. Amazing. WOW! This dish was sooooo easy to make and tasted sooooo good! The noodles soaked up that glorious dressing and, when paired with the green beans, made the dish so mellow and light. This was simply sensational. Quick and easy meal that was easily doubled to make plenty for leftovers, which I’m enjoying as I type! Soooooo good!
First comment ever on this recipe! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed this Gloria!!! It’s awesome, isn’t it? Made it for a family get together once and even my tough family said they enjoyed it – and they are very dubious about “faux Asian” recipes!