Ginger & Sesame Chicken Soba {From Scratch!}

Hello!

I post a lot of dessert. Cupcakes and cookies and bars and, well, SWEETS. I think this is for a couple of reasons: 1) I think dessert is beautiful. Colours and sprinkles and beautiful piping. It's my favourite. 2) Dessert photographs really well!

Well, say no more general public, say no more. Today, I bring to you a most delicious Asian-inspired dish without any weird creepy msg-laden sauces.

While Mama B and I were out shopping we were going to pick up some food and then I thought hmm, I think we should go home and make something instead. So happy that's the option we chose! I normally don't blog my lunch or dinners. Mostly because I throw it all together in a time crunch and sometimes it doesn't look the prettiest, but I thought I'd share this recipe because the sauce is DIVINE and so worth it.

My source for knowing this is legit? My brother who works at a Pan-Asian restaurant who says this dish stacks up (and shhh...even surpasses) some dishes at his work!


Without any further ado, let's grab our ingredients and get to cooking! While this recipe isn't 'hard' it is a bit time consuming. Thankfully, Mama B helped me cut up the veggies and saved me so much time! Worth it? Let me answer with a picture...or 3:

Underneath it all is beautiful colours...

Which end up making a perfect plate of delicious flavourful AMAZINGNESS!!! 

 On to the recipe!

Ginger & Sesame Chicken Soba

Yields 4-6 servings 
Allergens: Contains Nuts, Meat, Gluten Free

Ingredients:

• 3 large chicken breasts
• 2 large bell peppers, chopped (I used 1 red, 1 orange)
• Fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 large scallions, chopped 
• 1 red onion, 1 white onion, chopped/diced
• 2 fresh lemons, cut into slices
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup cashews, chopped
• 2 teaspoons (or more) sesame seeds, reserved for garnish 
• 1 box soba noodles (be sure they are gluten free if you have a gluten intolerance, many soba noodles are made with wheat AND buckwheat and those are not gluten free!) 

**QUICK TIP** For the cashews, put them in a ziploc baggie and smash them with a jar or other hard surface. Et voila! Chopped cashews ;) 

Sesame Ginger Sauce:

• 1/4 cup gluten free tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• Pinch of ginger (or use a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger)
• 2-4 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar (or honey)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic (or 1 fresh clove, grated)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in a spoon of warm water, set aside to thicken

**These are approximations. You want around 1 cup sauce total, if you want more or less of one thing, feel free to change things up!**

Directions

1. Prepare your Sesame Ginger Sauce by mixing all ingredients into a medium bowl. Once combined, add in your cornstarch mixture. Set aside to thicken. 
2. Mix together all of your chopped vegetables EXCEPT your grated carrot and some cilantro for garnish. Set aside in a large bowl. 
3. Prepare soba noodles according to box instructions and set aside. Do not overcook or they will become very starchy and stick together. 
4. Rub your chicken with salt and pepper and place the strips in a large skillet pan that is lightly oiled. Cover with 1/4 of the Sesame ginger sauce. Toss in some fresh lemon and fresh garlic for better flavour! You can also marinate it in the fridge for an hour, then cook it, but I was pressed for time!
5. Allow chicken to cook for 3-4 minutes, flip the pieces and then cover for 5-10 minutes.
6. I took the lid off near the end to allow some liquid to evaporate and once the chicken was full cooked I poured in my vegetables, cooked soba noodles and remainder of sauce. I let it all mix together, cook for only long enough to fully heat everything and then took it off the heat.
7. Garnish with grated carrot, remaining fresh cilantro, chopped cashews, extra scallions and fresh lemon! 
8. EAT!

In other words, you need these things:

And then you need to mix it..

And sprinkle some other things on top (check out that steam)!

And serve it to your family. Or eat it all. But maybe share it, because that's nice and whatever. 

Oh how sad I was when I uploaded the pictures and FORGOT to garnish with cilantro and scallions. How terrible! A dash of green on top completes this dish. It was so flavourful and satisfying. The chicken was magnificent and the crunch of the cashews and the sesame seeds balanced the diverse palate of this dish.

The sauce stuck to the noodles really well, and I think soba noodles are my absolute favourite! They are thick and hearty with a delicious authenticity to them. I adore soba!

I wish I had more pictures, but we were all so hungry when we sat down! If you love Pan-Asian cuisine, I would give this a try. It's relative simple and you can tweak it in so many ways! Use different noodles, beef or tofu instead of chicken, different veggies. MMM. Broccoli would have been nice. And orange. AND AND AND....well, you get the idea!

Basically, YUM. Go make it right meow.

Happy Stir-Frying!

XO