Stir Fried Soba Noodles With Chicken and Ginger

It started as a dreamy snow , touching the red leaves  with its powdery white. It was a magnificent sight, and a rarity in my part of the world. 

I was as excited as the leaves you see in the pictures here , to be touched by the gentle flakes.

Later, it poured down in a kind of frenzy ; inches by inches it rose , the colors and the earth sunk deep in its frozen blanket .

I have been reading a lot about buckwheat lately , but it took me sometime to really get into it. Initially I was fascinated by the fact that its a seed and not a grain.

Its gluten free , low in calorie and high in nutrition , which got me all the more attracted to it.

But honestly I was a bit apprehensive about the taste ; a healthy alternative not always turn out to be a delicious treat right.

My rule of thumb when trying something new is to incorporate it into one of your favorite recipe , know it and then play with it. So I went with the buckwheat noodles aka Soba noodles , made a stir fry following my usual casual recipe for fried rice , which I normally use for making noodles too.

Then I realized, soba noodles has a taste ; a nutty taste to it unlike the other noodles I have tried , so you don't really have to dress it up with so much sauce.

After 2-3 attempts, I got my mix right and this has been my favorite recipe for making Soba noodles ever since.

Recipe for Stir fried Soba noodles with Chicken and Ginger
Serves - 2

Total cooking time - 20 minute for preparation + less than 30 minutes cooking time

( This recipe is developed particularly for Soba / buckwheat noodles and may not work well with other noodles unless you dress it up with some more sauces of your choice)

Ingredients:-
To cook noodles
Soba Noodles - 8 oz pack
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tea spoon
Water

Chicken - 2 breast or boneless thigh pieces ( Use mushrooms to make it veggie , see notes for options)

Bowl 1
Crushed black pepper - 1/2 tea spoon
Soy sauce - 1 tea spoon
Garlic and ginger powder - a large pinch ( optional)

To stir fry
Oil - 2- 3 tablespoons
Shallots sliced - 2-3
Garlic thinly sliced - 2 cloves
Ginger thinly sliced - an inch piece( I add a 2 inch piece)
Green chili sliced - 1
Bell pepper - 1 ( I used half of a red and half of a green )
Carrot chopped - 1
Black pepper corns - 1/2 to 1 tea spoon
Vinegar - 1 tea spoon ( i used Red Wine vinegar)
Soy Sauce - 1 to 1.5 tea spoon( add more if you want more)

Salt to taste ( be careful since soy is already salty!)

Hot sauce -- for serving

Method:-
Cook Noodles according to package directions ( I always add salt and oil to boiling water ).Drain and set side
There are 2 ways to cook chicken
Clean and cut the Chicken into small strips .Combine all the ingredients in Bowl 1 , add chicken and keep aside for 10-20 minutes.
Heat 1 or 2 spoons of oil in a Wok or any wide mouthed non stick pan . Add chicken pieces and stir fry till they are well cooked and start to turn golden brown . It will take around 10  minutes.( keep the flame medium and its done when you think its cooked)
Or Marinate the chicken pieces( big pieces) with all the ingredients in Bowl 1. Heat 1-2 spoons of oil in a pan and shallow fry on both sides ( 6 -8 minutes each ) or until it is no longer pink and cooked. Then chop it into small pieces.
When the chicken pieces are done , add sliced shallots , ginger , garlic , bell pepper , and carrot and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.
Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of water and cook covered for a couple of minutes( 2-3)
Uncover , add Vinegar , mix well .Crush black peppercorns in a mortar and pestle
Add noodles , soy sauce and black peppercorns and combine well and stir fry for 2-3 minutes, or until everything is mixed and well heated through.
Add mint or cilantro or any herbs you like and serve warm with a dash of hot sauce !

Notes:-

• Chicken will be a bit hard like the fried in this recipe and not soft ...
• If you have left over meat ,chop or shred it in small pieces and use that 
• Rotisserie chicken works awesome with this recipe too
• Substitute Mushrooms for chicken to make it a veggie treat
• You can use peas , corns , french beans or any vegetable of your choice , just cook it before or adjust the cooking time in this.
• Add whatever sauce you like in it , but only in small quantities.

Have a great day!

Sarah ✍