I am slightly obsessed with noodles; dry or wet, I am immediately drawn to bowls of slippery, slurp-worthy goodness and last night I had a bad craving for soba noodles specifically. Soba noodles are a Japanese variety made of wheat and buckwheat flour and can be served hot or cold. Last night’s meal was served hot, in a delicate and slightly creamy broth featuring miso paste, soy sauce and mirin as the flavour base. It was quick, but incredibly comforting and healthy. I felt good just eating it, almost as if I was undoing all the wine and take away I consumed over the long weekend (wishful thinking I know).

I have been really busy lately, and sadly haven’t had the time, energy or resources to dedicate to my blog, but now that life has settled down a bit I am so happy to be back in the kitchen. It really is my happy place. We also have a new house-mate, so it’s nice to cook for someone else (another test-recipe guinea pig). Likewise, when it’s her night to cook, I get to eat different types of food that I might not have normally made, it’s actually fantastic.

You can easily adapt this recipe, feel free to switch up the greens and try it with sugar snap peas, carrot, Asian greens or asparagus. If you don’t have broccolini or English spinach, have a hunt in your vegetable drawer in the fridge because I am sure you can find something suitable in there before it turns too sad to eat. You might even like to add a soft boiled egg for something different.

Serves 4 (20-25 minutes to prep and cook)

Shredded chicken with soba noodles in a delicate miso broth

The list:

1kg chicken thigh fillets (can be cooked with the bone still in)
3 Tbs peanut oil
2 tsp sesame oil
6 spring onions, finely sliced with white and green sections separated
1 cm piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced into matchsticks
7 cups of water
2 heaped Tbs miso paste
4 Tbs light soy sauce
3 Tbs mirin
1 bunch English spinach (roughly 2 cups fresh leaves), thoroughly washed
6 stalks broccolini, roughly chopped
120gm soba noodles (dried)
4 radishes, thinly sliced
1 Tbs sesame seeds
1/2 cup coriander leaves
Salt and pepper

The method:

1. Bring a full kettle to the boil, you will need roughly 7 cups. If your kettle doesn’t hold enough liquid, fine to re boil more water once first batch is added to the pot later
2. Into a heavy cast iron pot (or similar) heat peanut oil (can substitute for canola or vegetable oil) and add chicken thighs when pan is hot, season with salt and pepper and cook for a couple of minutes on either side or until lightly browned, then add sesame oil
3. Add white section of the spring onions and ginger matchsticks to the pot, fry off for a couple of minutes then pour in boiling water (in two batches if necessary). Scrape any stuck chicken bits off the bottom of the pan
4. Cook chicken for roughly 8-10 minutes, or until chicken thighs have cooked through, test by removing a piece and cutting in half to check the meat is white. Remove cooked chicken from pot and place onto a chopping board or into a bowl. Shred chicken using two forks
5. While the chicken is cooking, place miso paste, soy sauce and mirin into a jug and ladle in some boiling water from your chicken pot, stir until miso has dissolved. Once chicken is removed from the pot, pour in miso mixture and stir through
6. Add broccolini and noodles to the pot. Soba noodles generally need to cook for 4 minutes in boiling water, but check the packet instructions
7. When noodles are cooked, return chicken to the pot, add in English spinach and stir through
8. To serve, ladle stock and noodles into a large bowl then top with coriander, green section of the spring onions, radish slices and sesame seeds

Enjoy!

A healthy and quick mid-week meal

Mix-up the vegetables or add a soft boiled egg, this recipe is easy to adapt