Spicy Sesame Noodle + Fried Chicken Summer Soba Bowl

Winter is officially over! But that doesn’t mean we’re done with comfort food. This recipe stands in the intersection of “I want something healthy, but a bit decadent,” which is perfect to ease into the warmer months. I mean, let’s be honest, you can’t just give up on all the comfort food cold turkey, right!?

So let’s start with the kinda-healthy stuff: in this case it’s the soba noodles tossed in a spicy tahini and sesame sauce. Then add some veggies on top — nothing crazy, just some pan fried bok choy (though you can add as many veggies as you want), then add some fried chicken and top it all with green onions and chilies.

You don’t even need to make the fried chicken from scratch; just get it from your fave chicken place in town and you’re done. The only thing you have to do is the noodles and sauce — easy!

Feel free to sprinkle this bowl of goodness with any additional sauces like sambal oelek or Sriracha. There’s no right or wrong! And serve it up with bowls and platters from West Elm’s Kanto collection for a modern Asian-inspired flair.

Alright, bust out your pasta pot and let’s do this.

Spicy Sesame Noodles with Fried Chicken

Makes 2 bowls

You’ll need:

• Soba noodles (you can use rice noodles too if you want)
  5 shallots, minced
  1 tsp fresh grated ginger
  1 garlic clove, minced
  ¼ cup tahini
  2 tsp chili flakes
  2 tsp tamari or soy sauce
  1 tsp rice vinegar
  1 tsp sesame oil
  1 cup water
  Bok choy
  Fried chicken
  Green onions, lime wedges and chilies to garnish

Extras: sauces of your liking (sriracha, sambal olek, fish, oyster, you name it).

Instructions:

• 1. Cook the soba noodles according to package instructions and set aside.
  2. To make the sauce, in a small pan with oil, fry the shallots, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tahini, chili flakes, tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil and water and simmer for a couple minutes. Sauce should not be super thick; if it is, add a splash of water. If it’s runny, add more tahini.
  3. Cut the bok choy in half and give it a quick saute in a pan with some oil on high heat. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Grab a bowl and toss the cooked noodles in the sauce, then serve them on your plate. Top with fried chicken, sauteed bok choy, green onions, chilies, lime wedges and any sauces you’d like.

Bon Appetit!