A good soba noodle salad is hard to beat. This one has a ton of veggies- snow peas, carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, kale, cabbage, and cilantro and then is tossed with a tahini/peanut dressing, toasted cashews, and curry marinated chicken. You could easily adjust this to suit your wants- make it vegetarian, add shrimp instead of chicken, or toss in a few more veggies! The key is the yummy noodles, the tasty dressing, and lotsa good freshness!!
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
For the salad…
Buckwheat Soba Noodles (12 oz)
1/2 lb chicken breast
1 cup julienned carrots
1 cup julienned red bell pepper
1 cup julienned cucumber
1 cup chopped kale
1 cup chopped cabbage (I used Conehead from my CSA- any kind will work)
1 cup snap peas
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup cashews, roughly chopped
For dressing (makes about 1/2 cup)…
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp peanut butter (I used crunchy salted)
1/2 tbsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce- a bit less intense than regular soy sauce, but use regular if easier)
1/2 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp tahini paste
3 tbsp water
Suggested chicken marinade…
1/2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
You can buy soba noodles either fresh (like these- in the refrigerator section)
or dried, like spaghetti noddles
For dressing… if you’re trying to use what you already have at home and don’t have all
of this (I don’t blame you if you don’t feel like buying things you may not use much, like tahini),
you can adjust as needed. I know tahini is not a common ingredient for a lot of people, but if
you do buy it, you can just keep the jar in your fridge and it keeps very well, like peanut butter!
I love using it in dressings and sauces 🙂
Spices for chicken… simple, but very flavorful!
DIRECTIONS
Start by marinating the chicken…
Mix seasonings together (I did this right in the pan I was going to cook it in)
Mix in oil and stir
Add chicken breast, coat both sides well, and let sit while you prepare soba salad
It’s best to cook meat at room temp anyway, so this not only marinates it,
but also lets the chicken come to a good temp before cooking it up!
Now veggie time…
Julienne (make thin strips) the peppers, carrots, and cucumber
and finely chop the greens and cilantro
You should have about equal parts of everything…
Get all your goodness ready to go and set
aside so it’s easy when you throw the salad together
By now, the chicken should be ready to cook
(I know it’s not a super long marinating period, but it’s long enough to flavor it!)
Turn heat to medium and cook side for 5 minutes, flip, and then
cook other side for about 5 minutes, until cooked through
Remove from pan and let sit for 5-10 minutes to rest
(While waiting, you can get all of your ingredients ready for the dressing!
Then chop into small strips or however you like 🙂
Now for the dressing…
Mix all ingredients in a bowl
Whisk until smooth and blended- and that’s that!!
Now for noodles…
Prepare according to package directions
Most (for fresh noodles) say to boil briefly (2 minutes), drain, and rinse with cold water to chill
Alternatively you could place noodles in a bowl of cold water and then drain- up to you 🙂
Once strained, place noodles in a large serving bowl
Almost done!
Toast up cashews over medium-high heat to lightly brown
Now assemble salad…
Place all veggies over noodles
Drizzle dressing over veggies
Toss to coat everything in dressing
Top with chicken strips and toasted cashews
Enjoy!
