Chilled Soba Treasure Puffs

*in collaboration with Hakubaku (for Organic Soba, Cha Soba, Ramen, Somen & Udon)

If you like Japanese noodles, Hakubaku is one brand that will never disappoint. I was so delighted to be invited for this collaboration. I created these delicate looking Chilled Soba Treasure Puffs sets to honour the healthy and perfectly textured organic noodles that were delivered to me last week. I used 2 types of noodles - Organic Soba and Cha Soba to make the sets more interesting. The deep fried golden firm tofus were meant to serve as 'box' holders for the treasured ingredients and noodles. The accompanied dipping sauce/Mentsuyu, on the other hand, provided flavours to the soba as well as the firm tofu. What more would you want if all these goodness were to be served together with colourful jewel-like fresh sashimi and fruit dices?

Weren't they pretty? If you like your noodles chilled, if you like your ingredients fresh, you'll like this.

Other Perks of Hakubaku Noodles :

• 98% Fat-Free Organic Hakubaku Noodles
• Number 1 Organic Noodle Brand in Japan
• Halal- and kosher-certified products for all to enjoy
• Quick cooking for busy days

Hakubaku’s noodles are sold at S$3.80 each at Cold storage, Meidiya, NTUC FairPrice, Prime, Sheng Siong, TKNLand @ Suntec and https://shopee.sg/snackvampire

For other great ways to use Hakubaku’s noodles and multi grain. Please refer to https://www.facebook.com/HakubakuOfficialFanpage/ for more information.

Main Ingredients (enough for 2 pax) :

• 70 gm Hakubaku Organic Cha Soba
• 70 gm Hakubaku Organic Soba
• 2 pcs firm tofu (tao kwa)
• 1 tbsp corn flour 
• ½ tsp salt
• 200 gm mixed sashimi (diced salmon, tuna and tako)(chilled)
• ½ raw cucumber (deseed and diced)
• seeds from ¼ pomegranate
• 4 cherry tomatoes
• a dash of wasabi paste
• toasted sesame (sprinkle)
• parsley flakes (optional)
• roasted nori (seaweed) bits (optional)
• cooking oil (for deep frying firm tofu)

Ingredients for Soba & Tofu Dipping Sauce / Mentsuyu

• 1 sachet dashi powder
• 3 to 4 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (or to taste)
• ½ cup mirin
• 1 cup water
• a dash of wasabi paste
• finely chopped spring onions

Method :

1. Prepare soba & tofu dipping sauce/Mentsuyu by stirring in all the required ingredients (except for wasabi paste and finely chopped spring onions) in a saucepan and bring to boil at low heat. Leave to chill and set aside. Spring onions and wasabi paste to be added only upon ready to serve.
2. Slit the firm tofu 1/3 from bottom. Then carve a square out of each piece of the top portion (i.e. the 2/3 portion on top). Assemble top and bottom to form a ‘box’ holder for soba.
3. Heat cooking oil in saucepan (for deep frying) at medium heat.
4. Pat dry firm tofu. Mix salt to corn flour and coat all sides of firm tofu with thin layer. Allow to deep fry in very hot cooking oil till desired crispiness and browning. Assemble and set aside.
5. Add Hakubaku Organic Soba and Cha Soba in 2 respective pots of boiling water. Allow to cook till al dente. Remove from pot and dip in ice cold water respectively. Drain and set aside.
6. When ready to serve, assemble chilled soba, sashimi cubes, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pomegranate seeds into deep fried firm tofu boxes and serving plates.
7. Garnish with nori bits, toasted sesame seeds and parsley flakes.
8. Serve together with dipping sauce/Mentsuyu, raw quail egg and a dash of wasabi paste for each set.

(scroll to bottom of page, click on "Print" or "PDF" icon for printer friendly recipe)