Harnessing the power of Auria’s Vegan Hot Chili Sambal, this vegan sambal soba recipe is an easy weeknight winner. Loaded with eggplant and tofu and bathed in a spicy, aromatic sauce, it’s a noodle dish you won’t want to stop eating.

A fiery soba recipe worth keeping in your rotation

I just wrote a review of Auria’s Vegan Chili Sambal and how I can’t stop eating it on everything. My go-to method? This vegan sambal soba!

What is sambal?

In my review, I explained sambal in detail, and I’ll include a few of the most salient points below as a refresher.

Sambal is a spicy chili paste that serves as a versatile condiment, marinade, or cooking base in Malaysian and Indonesian kitchens.
Its unique blend of ingredients and preparation sets Malaysian sambal apart from other curry pastes in Southeast Asia.
Malaysian sambal primarily revolves around chilies–both fresh and dried–as the star ingredient. These chilies are often combined with garlic, shallots, lemongrass, belacan (shrimp paste), tamarind, lime juice, and sometimes palm sugar to balance the heat.
Traditional Malaysian sambal almost always includes shrimp paste, which is made from fermented ground shrimp or krill. It is not generally suitable for vegan diets!

Fortunately, Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen has crafted what I consider to be the best vegan condiment of 2024. Her Vegan Hot Chili Sambal is quite honestly a show-stopper, and it works perfectly in this vegan sambal soba recipe.

How to make this vegan sambal soba recipe

Fortunately, this recipe only requires a few ingredients. Let’s dig in.

What you need

Soba: I use 8 ounces of soba noodles. Your favorite noodle will work well here. Try it with rice noodles, ramen, or udon!
Vegetables: I use shallot, scallions, shiitake mushrooms, and Chinese eggplant. I don’t recommend swapping the Chinese eggplant for Italian eggplant. If you don’t have Chinese eggplant, use zucchini or yellow squash instead.
Firm tofu: Use firm or extra-firm tofu. You can also use your favorite plant-based meat substitute here. Meati Classic Cutlets would be amazing!
Sauce: The sauce is simply soy sauce, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, vegan honey, and Auria’s Vegan Hot Chili Sambal. If you don’t have Shaoxing wine, you can use dry sherry or vermouth or omit it. If you don’t have the vegan chili sambal, use your favorite vegan sambal or replace it with sriracha or chili garlic sauce to taste.
Thai basil: I finish the noodles with a handful of chopped Thai basil. It tastes delicious with the sauce! If you don’t have it, skip it or finish with freshly minced cilantro instead.

How to make it

Step 1: Cook the soba according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
Step 2: Fry the veggies! I start with shallots, scallion whites, and mushrooms, and then I add the eggplant.
Step 3: Make the sauce by whisking all the ingredients together as the vegetables cook.

Step 3: Add the tofu to the pot. Then add the sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Finish it up! Add the Thai basil and the scallion greens along with the cooked noodles. Toss in the sauce until the noodles are evenly coated.

I hope you loved this recipe as much as I did! If you give it a try, please rate the recipe and drop a comment below to let me know how it turned out. I’d love to hear from you.