Japanese-style somen noodles with chicken
Where to begin… after a few days away, I’m back with another of my Eastern experiments, now that I’ve finally found a place where I can stock up on ingredients that are quite unusual in these parts. I’m continuing with the “one-dish meals” series, where I combine carbohydrates with vegetables and proteins so I only have to wash the bare minimum (my dishwasher works sometimes and sometimes it doesn’t, so I’m in lazy mode when it comes to washing up).
As I mentioned in a previous post, Eastern cuisine is not that complicated—it’s all about getting the right ingredients. The rest is pure pleasure, with very well-balanced results and exquisite flavors. This time I’ve tried snow peas (also known as flat peas), which are simply a variety of pea that looks like green beans, with almost imperceptible seeds inside. Cooked in a wok, they turn out extremely tasty and crunchy.
I hope you like it!
Ingredients for two people
2 chicken breast fillets
100 g dried somen noodles
A piece of fresh ginger about 4 cm thick
4 green asparagus spears
70 g snow peas
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1.5 tablespoons mirin
1.5 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 clove of garlic
Cilantro and chives (for garnish)
Preparation
Cut the chicken fillets into thin strips about 4–5 cm long. Peel the ginger and cut it into medium-sized cubes.
Place the chicken strips and ginger in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once it starts boiling, lower the heat, cover, and let it simmer for about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let it rest, covered, for another 10 minutes before draining. After that, drain it and remove the ginger pieces. Keep the chicken in a covered container.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles in boiling water for 3–4 minutes, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Drain and set aside.
Heat the sesame oil in a wok and stir-fry the asparagus and snow peas, previously cut diagonally (asparagus into 4 pieces and snow peas in half). Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the chicken strips and somen noodles and mix carefully so the noodles don’t break.
Crush the garlic and mix it with the rice vinegar, mirin, and soy sauce. Add this mixture to the wok and stir well to combine. Garnish with chopped cilantro and chives and serve hot.
Things to keep in mind
You can substitute snow peas with round green beans.
If you don’t have rice vinegar, use the same amount of wine vinegar.