Soba Noodle and Chicken with Sesame Ginger Dressing

Ingredients for soba chicken

Here’s everything you’ll need for this soba noodles and chicken recipe:

• Soba Noodles. These Japanese buckwheat noodles are chewy and nutty. Look for them in the international aisle of most major grocery stores. Swaps: Any long noodles of your choice, including ramen or spaghetti.
• Carrots. Lend sweetness and crisp texture. I like orange carrots for these soba noodles with chicken. But, purple or yellow work great too! Swaps: Parsnips are a close swap for carrots. You can also use beets, jicama, celery, daikon, or even water chestnuts.
• Scallions. Use both the white and green parts of the green onions for the most flavor.
• Edamame. Feel free to use either fresh or defrosted frozen edamame. Swaps: Green peas, snap peas, or snow peas are probably the closest substitutes.
• Cilantro. I’m a big fan of fresh cilantro. Feel free to mince the tender stems and use them, too! Swaps: Thai basil, mint, or even parsley work too.
• Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper. Essential for overall flavor.
• Cooked Chicken. Any cooked chicken will work well here, but I like rotisserie for convenience. Remember to pull it apart while it’s still warm and discard the skin. Swaps: You’re welcome to use any protein here that you like. Some other options include shredded pork or sliced pork, seared tuna, flaked salmon, poached shrimp, pressed tofu, or marinated tempeh.

Dressing ingredients

• Tahini. For nutty, toasty, creamy deliciousness. Swaps: You can also use creamy cashew butter, almond butter, peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter if needed.
• Fresh Ginger. You can almost always find a knob of ginger root kicking around in my fridge because it keeps well for a few weeks. Feel free to swap in ginger paste that comes in a jar or tube for convenience if you prefer.
• Rice Wine Vinegar. Lightly sweet and deliciously delicate, rice wine vinegar is one of my favorites. Swaps: You can also use white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, or champagne vinegar in a pinch.
• Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce. Use low-sodium soy sauce so you have control over the saltiness. Swaps: You can also use tamari, coconut aminos, Bragg’s liquid aminos, or fish sauce.
• Honey. For some sweetness to balance out the salty, umami goodness in the dressing. Swaps: Any liquid sweetener you prefer including agave nectar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or date syrup.
• Sesame Oil. For an added hit of toasty, nutty, rich goodness.
• Vegetable Oil. To bind the tahini-ginger dressing together. Swaps: Any neutral-flavored oil (e.g. avocado, grapeseed, peanut) work too.

You can get more information on the dressing here: sesame ginger dressing salad.

Recipe variations 

There’s plenty of room for you to tweak this soba noodle recipe with chicken. Here are a few variations worth considering:

• Vegetarian Option. Omit the chicken. And, if you still want extra protein, consider a plant-based source like tofu, seitan, tempeh, or vegan “meat” products.
• Gluten-Free. While buckwheat soba noodles are naturally gluten-free, soy sauce is not. Just swap in Tamari or coconut aminos.
• Soy-Free Twist. Use coconut aminos, Bragg’s liquid aminos, or gluten-free Worcestershire sauce in place of soy sauce.
• Grain-Free. Swap in konjac (“Miracle”) noodles, edamame spaghetti, heart of palm “pasta,” or glass noodles.
• Spicy Thai Soba. Kick up the heat tossing in some jalapeño peppers. Or use a spicier chile like serrano peppers. And, consider drizzling your bowls with sriracha and/or add some sambal oelek for even more spice.
• Veggie Loaded. Whatever veggies you have on hand will work great here. Some to consider: shredded cabbage, bell peppers, cucumbers, snap peas and/or snow peas, corn, green beans, corn kernels, and broccoli or cauliflower florets—to name a few.