Soba Noodles

This idea for a meal has been with me for almost two weeks and I kept getting too lazy to actually make it.  Finally, last night I threw it together.  It's based off a recipe from the Skinny B* In the Kitch cookbook, but I changed a few things so I will just tell you how I did it. 

First of all, a little back story.  Back in July I made a sesame udon noodle dish that W loved!  (Read about it here.)  While he was noshing down the noodles he made a little comment about how he liked it so much better than the usual, and apparently blase, stir-fry I make.  Okay mister, well noted.  I have not made stir-fry ever again.  However, to keep with the theme, I have discovered that anything stir-fryish with noodles goes over extremely well. 

Therefore I bring you today's meal, Japanese soba noodles with steamed (not stir-fried) veggies and tofu.

Ingredients:

Sauce
4 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons sesame oil

Steamed Veggies and Tofu
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 eggplant, cubed
2 stalks celery, chunked
1/4 onion, cut into chunks
2 stalks chives, chopped
1/2 block tofu, cubed
1/4 teaspoon salt

Noodles
1/2 package buckwheat soba noodles

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce; set aside.

For steaming the veggies and tofu, I used the steamer attachment for one of my pots.  Add the rice vinegar to about one inch of water in the pot.  First, steam the eggplant alone for about five minutes.  Add the onions and celery next for about three minutes.  Finally add the tofu and chives.  The salt is for sprinkling over the veggies while they're steaming.

Cook the noodles according to the package, rinse, drain and put in a large mixing bowl.  Drizzle half of the sauce mixture over the noodles and mix well. 

When the veggies and tofu are down, put them in a separate mixing bowl and drizzle the other half of the sauce over them; mix well. 

To serve, place the veggies and tofu on top of the noodles on a plate.  I made some bok choy for a side dish, but edamame would go well with this too. 

As with the previous noodle dish in July, this one was a huge hit!  He couldn't stop raving about it and asking for seconds.  Alright, alright, I get the point!  Not that I've tried, but now I definitely won't try to bring stir-fry back.