Peanut Soba Noodles with Chicken

I thought I would start back up with a recipe from one of my new cookbooks I got for Christmas, entitled "Urban Pantry: Tips & Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable & Seasonal Kitchen"" by Amy Pennington.  Could my parents have picked out a more fitting cookbook for me? I don't think so.  This is such a fantastic cookbook, and I've changed many things in my kitchen and my cooking because of it... more to come about that. Anyway, I just had to try this recipe for Peanut Soba Noodles, which is a really simple asian dish with tons of flavor and good, hearty nutrition. Soba noodles are Japanese spaghetti-like noodles traditionally made from buckwheat flour (a great gluten-free source of protein, less calories than wheat flour) and they boil quickly in about 6-7 minutes.

The peanut sauce is so delicious that you may want to make extra just to keep on hand to use in a variety of other ways (dressing for a salad, dips for veggies, marinade for meat...yum!). This dish tastes great at any temperature, hot, room temperature or cold; and leftovers will keep well in the fridge for several days. You gotta try it!

PEANUT SOBA NOODLES WITH CHICKEN

Ingredients
1/2lb chicken, about 4 small chicken breast tenders, preferably organic, free-range
1 tblsp vegetable oil
Chinese five spice powder
salt/pepper
One 8-oz package soba noodles
1/2c peanut butter
1/4c water
1/4c soy sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tblsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1tsp ground ginger
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced or grated
1/4 head red cabbage, grated
3 green onions, chopped
(Feel free to add additional vegetables)

Directions
1. Sprinkle the chinese five spice powder and salt/pepper over the chicken to coat
2. Heat oil in a pan and cook chicken until nicely browned and cooked through.

3. While the chicken is cooking, cook the soba noodles as directed on the package.
4. To prepare the peanut sauce, mix together the peanut butter, water, soy sauce, lime, garlic, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and ginger until smooth and creamy. You may want to heat the peanut butter in the microwave for a few seconds until soft.
5. Chop up the carrots, cabbage and green onions and set aside.

6. Drain the noodles when they are done and put them back into the pot.
7. Chop up the chicken and add to the noodles. Add the veggies and pour over the peanut sauce. Mix until well-incorporated. Enjoy!