Sesame Soba Noodles

My daughter will be going back to Uni at the weekend and won't be home again until the summer. I will miss her but the house will be so much quieter - especially at lunchtimes! 

When I'm busy I'm happy to grab a quick lunch on the hoof but for my daughter, lunch has to be interesting and varied and is something to take a bit of time over. Personally I think she's got too much time on her hands but she maintains that lunch is just as important as any other meal of the day and I have to say that you can't argue with that can you? I do think that we overlook, and, dare I say, skip lunch too often, usually because of the demands of our busy lives. 

A couple of months ago, I posted about lunch for 1 week using flour tortillas but thought I'd post another favourite lunchtime recipe - Sesame Soba Noodles. It's a favourite due to the fact that it's eaten cold so can be prepared the evening before, stored in the fridge in a plastic container overnight and then popped in my bag to be eaten wherever and whenever the next day. If you do this though, don't forget to pack a fork or some chopsticks as well - this is NOT finger food! 

This recipe produces a light meat-free lunch full of Asian flavours but the recipe is really flexible (see notes below). Soba noodles are made using buckwheat flour but the brand I used also contained wheat flour so if you're on a gluten-free diet check the packet first.

Sesame Soba Noodles

Notes: I use soba noodles in this recipe for no other reason than they have a slippery texture that means they don't stick together as much as other noodles if left to chill in the fridge overnight. Other types of noodles would be just as nice but may need a bit more dressing, especially the thicker ones.

The ingredients are variable - I've included the ingredients that I used the day I took the photographs but small sticks of carrot, thinly sliced mange-tout or small sticks of leek are lovely too. For a more substantial lunch, chicken or prawns could be added - just use your imagination.

Serves 2-3 depending upon your appetite

Ingredients:

150g soba noodles

½ red chilli - deseeded

2cm piece of ginger

1tbsp coriander leaves

6 spring onions

1 stick celery

1tbsp sesame oil

1tbsp white rice vinegar

1tbsp soy sauce
1tsp sesame seeds

Method:
1.Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the noodles. Cook for 2 minutes (or according to the instructions) then drain and leave to cool.

2. Finely chop the chilli, ginger and coriander leaves, slice the spring onions and cut the celery into matchsticks. Mix into the noodles.

3. Combine the sesame oil, vinegar and soy sauce together and pour over the noodles. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Chicken in a Parcel with Soy, Ginger and Noodles

This dish puts in a regular appearance in our house for dinner during the week. It's an unbelievably quick and easy recipe, totally delicious and is bursting with oriental flavours! It involves cooking a chicken breast in a foil parcel in the oven, to which I add ginger, soy sauce and a spring onion. I love it so much I don't experiment with it at all but I'm sure it would work well with with a nice bit of Thai curry paste a drop of fish sauce and some coconut milk mixed together in place of the soy sauce.

The noodles are cooked with spring onions, soy, coriander and sesame oil - the combination is really delicious. I always try to use the reduced salt variety of soy sauce - it has the same great taste but as it's lower in salt it's much better for you.

My daughter cooks this chicken a lot at Uni as it's so easy and has it simply with plain boiled rice - there is plenty of sauce when it's cooked to give the rice a nice flavour but I think the noodles complement the chicken perfectly!

This recipe serves 2

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breasts

400g packet of ready-cooked noodles or 2 (or 3 if you're hungry) nests of dried medium egg noodles
Bunch of spring onions

Half a small pack of fresh coriander 

5 tbsp of dark soy sauce 

Thumb size piece of ginger

1 tbsp sunflower oil 

1 tsp sesame oil

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C fan assisted oven / Gas Mark 6.

2. Cut two pieces of aluminium foil large enough to enable a chicken breast to be completely sealed in each. Place a chicken breast on each piece of foil and turn the edges up so that when the liquid is added it stays in the middle with the chicken and doesn't run out.

3. Slice half the ginger very thinly and place on the top of the chicken breasts - there is no need to peel it. Cut 2 of the spring onions into 3 or 4 pieces and lie these across the chicken breasts over the ginger.

4. Add 2 tbsps of soy sauce to each chicken breast.

5. Carefully seal the chicken breasts tightly in the foil so that the liquid cannot escape during cooking and place them in a shallow baking tin. Cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is thoroughly cooked through.

6. While the chicken is cooking prepare the ingredients for the noodles. Slice the remaining spring onions in large slices. Peel and chop the remaining ginger into small, thin strips. Chop the coriander finely.

6. If using dried egg noodles, place them in simmering water and cook according to the instructions on the packet and drain when cooked.

7. About 5 minutes before the chicken is ready heat the sunflower oil over a medium heat in a frying pan or wok and add the spring onion and ginger. Fry gently to avoid burning the onions.

8. When the spring onions have softened slightly add the noodles and turn in the frying pan or wok to warm the noodles and ensure they are coated in the oil. This will only take 3-4 minutes.

9. Add the remaining 1 tbsp soy sauce to the noodles along with the coriander and sesame oil and continue to turn them to evenly disperse them through the noodles.

10. When the chicken is ready, remove from the oven and  serve with the noodles. The chicken can be served still in the foil straight onto plates but I prefer to remove the chicken and pour the sauce over.

11. Remember to remove the ginger from the top of the chicken before you eat it - unless you like the strong tangy taste of lightly cooked ginger that is!

12. Enjoy!