Sesame Soba Bowl

Change up your bowl game with this sesame soba noodle bowl. Unlike a lot of pasta dishes that use heavy cream, these soba noodles get their creamy richness from tahini. For the veg of choice I went with a quick kimchi style cucumber salad; it’s light and crisp and helps offset the heaviness of the noodles. For the protein I did the easiest way to do chicken thighs; you can also use any protein option cooked however you like, such as tofu, fish, chicken breast or even ground turkey.

Recipe

Serves 2-3

Sesame Soba Noodles

• 16 oz soba noodles
• 6 tbsp tahini paste
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp garlic, grated
• 2 tsp ginger, grated
• 1/4 c reserved pasta water

1. Cook soba noodles according to package instructions. Be sure to save 1/4 cup of the starchy water. When finished cooking, strain and rinse off with cold water.
2. While the the noodles are cooking, get started on the sauce. Grate ginger and garlic, mix with the specified amounts of the rest of the ingredients.
3. Add the soba noodles to the sauce and mix until well combined.

Easy Kimchi Cucumbers

• 3 c cucumber of choice,
• sliced
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 1 tbsp gochujang
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp gochujaru
• 1 tsp sugar or honey

1. Prepare cucumbers and scallion. For the cucumbers, slice into long diagonal slices. Then, slice through each slice to get batons. Add cucumbers to a mixing bowl with sliced scallions.
2. Add the rest of the specified ingredients to the cucumbers and scallions, stir to incorporate.

Quick Broiled Chicken

• 8 boneless chicken thighs
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne powder
• 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp oil of choice

1. Turn on the high broiler in your oven–it should be hot enough by the time you complete the instructions below.
2. Add chicken thighs to a mixing bowl with specified seasonings, juice of a lemon, and your oil of choice. Mix until well combined
3. Lay chicken onto a sheetpan, optionally lined with aluminum foil. DO NOT USE parchment paper as it will burn and may catch fire.
4. Place chicken into oven and broil 7-8 minutes per side, depending on how big the thighs are.
5. Once chicken finishes cooking, let rest for a few minutes before slicing as desired.