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Coconut Chicken Over Ginger Soy Soba Noodles -Why get carry out when you can make this easy (and economical) dish at home!
There are a few things I crave on almost a daily basis. One is perfectly normal- pasta. The other is crunchy veggies- not so common. I love a good plate of roasted brussel sprouts or steamed veggies tossed in olive oil. That is one thing that I crave that I SHOULD eat. Never mind the chocolate or chips and salsa that are also on my crave list…
In an effort to eat well- on purpose, get more whole grains, lean proteins and vegetables into our diets I combined several things that I love into a simple noodle bowl. I used ingredients that are commonly found in Asian cuisine and commonly found in most kitchens, added economical chicken as my meat portion and sat all of that on a bed of soba noodles.
What ARE soba noodles?
The ingredient lineup
Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle (unlike thick wheat noodles, known as udon). Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. You can find it in most grocery store international isles and it ranges in price from $1.75-$6.99 per 8 oz package. I bought mine on the low end of that price range at my local grocery. For this recipe you need 1 8 oz package. For my family I use 2 8 oz packages. If you cannot find soba, a great substitution is whole wheat noodles such as spaghetti or linguine.
I love me some baby bok choy! Side note: make sure you are always using a sharp knife. This inexpensive favorite of mine is the Mercer 6″ Genesis Chefs Knife from Zesco.
I used thinly sliced bok choy, julienned carrots and cucumber in this dish but feel free to use what you like. I wanted to incorporate items found in many noodle bowls I have enjoyed over the years.
I marinaded the boneless, skinless chicken breasts in light coconut milk and the juice and zest of 1 lime- overnight. Give it at least 2 hours. Coconut milk is found in the juice or baking isle of many grocery stores.
The noodles are tossed in a ginger soy dressing immediately after draining and lightly rinsing with cool water. I highly recommend that you not overcook the noodles.
The best part about this meal, other than how yummy it was, was the fact that we all liked it. We ate a filling meal that was healthy and still felt satisfied because we got in that crunch factor and had our pasta fix.
Let me know if you make this and what you thought. I love feedback and would like to hear from you!
Substitute any crunchy vegetable that you like in this dish or use long whole wheat noodles instead of soba!
Ingredients
- Ginger Soy Dressing:
- 1 bunch of green onions- green parts only, sliced very thin
- 1 tsp of fresh ginger- I used Gourmet Garden pre minced
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 TB low sodium soy sauce
- 2 TB rice wine vinegar
- 1/3 C vegetable or canola oil
- 2 tsp of sugar
- zest of 1 lime
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 C cilantro, chopped
- Chicken:
- 2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast or 3 large breasts
- 1 can of light coconut milk
- zest and juice of 1 lime
- ziplock bag- gallon size
- Veggies:
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into matchstix or thin strips
- 1 bunch of baby bok choy, cleaned and trimmed of leafy green part and root end, sliced thin
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced or cut into strips
- 1 lime, quartered as garnish
- 1/4 C chopped peanuts, as garnish
- cilantro as garnish
- 8 oz package soba- cooked al dente, drained and rinsed with cool water
Instructions
- Marinade the chicken 2 hours to overnight.
- Remove from marinade and pan saute or roast in the oven.
- Thinly slice, set aside.
- Wash, peel/trim and chop all veggies and set aside.
- Cook soba as per instructions, set aside.
- Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Toss dressing with noodles that are still in pan.
- Evenly distribute noodles into serving bowls.
- Layer on veggies.
- Top with chicken.
- Garnish with lime wedge, cilantro and peanuts (all optional).
