Friday, June 4, 2010

cold soba peanut noodles

Last night I went on a picnic with some lady friends. It was the first of the season, as all other attempts to picnic this spring were rained out. It turned out to be quite the feast. I didn't change the recipe that I used too much because it was nearly perfect. I have had other peanut noodles and the sauces weren't as good. This one really is a great way to feed a bunch of people at a picnic. I will definitely be making it to go to movies under the Brooklyn Bridge this summer!


Serves 8.


Ingredients:

2- 12 oz packages of soba noodles (I used Annie Cheungs)
extra virgin olive oil
3 Carrots, Julienne*
1 T Rice Vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 lb of chicken breasts or tenderloins
sea salt and freshly grated pepper
1 1/2 cucumbers, Julienne
5 scallions, use all parts, chopped
1 T white sesame seeds, toasted
1/3 c parsley

Sauce Ingredients:
3 T natural peanut butter
3 T rice vinegar
4 1/2 T sesame oil
3 T soy sauce
1 1/2 T cane sugar
3/4 t red pepper flakes

1. Boil a large pot of water and cook the soba noodles (should be about 4 minutes). Drain and rinse in cold water for about 2 minutes to rinse the starch off and stop the noodles from cooking.
2. Bring a frying pan with 2 cm of water in it with 1 T rice vinegar to a boil. Add the carrots and simmer over medium heat for ~ 5 minutes until just tender. Drain and set aside.
3. In the same frying pan, cook garlic and ginger in a splash of oil. This should be done until the ginger and garlic are about to brown, but they should be removed as soon as this occurs. Place in a large bowl (which will be used for the sauce).
4. Rinse chicken, sprinkle with salt and pepper, sear on both sides, then cook with the cover on until it is cooked through (no pink liquid should come out of it). Remove from the pan and let cool.
5. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. To do so mix all ingredients with a whisk in a large bowl.
6. Mix the sauce with the noodles until the noodles are thoroughly coated.
7. Add the carrots, cucumbers, scallions, parsley, sesame seeds, and chicken to the noodles. Mix and serve.

 *Julienne essentially means cutting the vegetables into long thin strips.

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