Otsu!

Japanese buckwheaty goodness found here. I believe this was a result of Googling the following:

tofu
cilantro

I ended up having to go to an Asian supermarket to get many of the ingredients (noodles, low sodium soy, sesame oil, rice vinegar). Safeway fail! I was surprised to find that 100g of soba noodles has 15g of protein! At least that's what it said on the nutritional label!

Otsu

Grated zest of 1 lemon (I had to Google to figure out what 'zest' is)
Grated 1-inch cube of ginger
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

12 ounces or about 400-500g (1 bundle approx 100g) of dried soba noodles
1 package extra-firm tofu
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 small handful of cilantro sprigs, for garnish
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Preparation (25 min):
1. Dressing (5 min)
Combine the zest, ginger, honey, cayenne, and salt in a food processor (or use a hand blender) and process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, rice vinegar, and shoyu, and pulse to combine. With the machine running, drizzle in the oils.

2. Cook the soba in boiling water just until tender, then drain and rinse under cold running water (4 min).

3. Drain the tofu, pat it dry, and cut it into rectangles roughly the size of your thumb (½ inch thick and 1 inch long). Cook the tofu in a pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the pieces are browned on one side. Toss gently once or twice, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy (10 min).

4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba, the ¼ cup cilantro, the green onions, cucumber, and the dressing. Toss until well combined. Add the tofu and toss again gently. Serve on a platter, garnished with the cilantro sprigs and the toasted sesame seeds (2 min).

Result? Deelish!! Warm OR room temperature. I made this 2 weeks in a row!