Cha soba noodles with vegetables and honey chicken
The time has come to venture into Eastern cuisine, which I’ve had my eye on for a long time and until this week hadn’t seriously tried. I was running out of excuses; in fact, in the book I bought in Bristol when I went to visit my friend Floren a few days ago (The Complete Asian Cookbook), everything is explained so well that all you really need is motivation and, of course, the ingredients, which is the main challenge in places so far from the Far East.
Eastern cuisine is relatively simple; the techniques can be done by almost anyone who has read a bit about them, but what usually holds us back is the ingredients. A few weeks ago I found a large Asian food store in France where they have absolutely everything, so this is my first recipe, but it won’t be the last :lol:.
Enjoy it!
Ingredients for 2 people
100 g cha soba noodles
150 g chicken breast fillets
2 medium carrots
4 fresh green asparagus
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
6 spring onions
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon warm water
2 sprigs fresh cilantro (optional)
Preparation
Cut the chicken breasts into elongated strips about 1.5 cm thick. Mix the soy sauce with the water and honey until you get a smooth marinade and add it to the chicken. Let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour in a glass or plastic container with a lid.
Soak the shiitake mushrooms in warm water for about 15 minutes to rehydrate them. Peel the carrots and cut them diagonally into uniform sticks. Do the same with the asparagus and spring onions.
Cook the cha soba noodles in boiling water for about 3–4 minutes, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Drain them, rinse with cold water, and set aside in a covered container.
Drain the chicken from the marinade and fry it in a pan without oil for about 4 minutes on each side. Reserve the marinade.
Heat the sesame oil in a wok or large pan, and when hot, add the carrots, asparagus, and spring onions. Stir several times and add the remaining marinade. Cook for about 4 minutes, then add the chicken and noodles and mix well.
Remove from heat, serve, drizzle with lime juice, and garnish with chopped cilantro.
Things to keep in mind
If you don’t like cilantro, you can skip this ingredient.
If you don’t want to spend time cutting carrot sticks, you can buy them pre-cut. Cutting the vegetables is definitely the most time-consuming part of this recipe.