Kim Chee Soba

In the hot days of summer, sometimes all you want is a nice cold and refreshing meal.  You may also remember that I mentioned that I was back on my healthy eating AND I am in my third week of boot camp!!  So what better to make than some Kim Chee Soba.

Soba is a Japanese noodle that is made out of buckwheat flour.  It is packed with vitamin B, has a higher protein content that most noodles and it is also said to help lower blood pressure and cholesterol as well as increase your metabolism.  WIN!!   Since I had just made some Kim Chee Cucumbers, I decided to make a Kim Chee Soba as a nice refreshing dinner.  

Kim Chee Soba

2 bundles of soba, cooked according to package
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame seed oil
1 Tbsp. Kim Chee “juice” (from your Kim chee container)
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup Kim Chee Cucumber or Cabbage
1/2 cup dried shitake mushrooms
2 eggs, pan fried
green onion, sliced
sesame seeds

1.  Cook your soba noodles according to the direction on the package.  Throw dried shitake mushrooms into the hot water while noodles are cooking.  Once noodles are done, drain noodles and mushrooms.  Rinse noodles with cold water, and pull out mushrooms and squeeze excess water out of the mushrooms. 

2.  In a small bowl mix soy sauce, sesame seed oil, Kim Chee Juice and sugar.  Mix the sauce over the cold noodles and the mushrooms. 

3.  Plate noodles and garnish each place with Cucumber Kim Chee, fried egg, green onions and sesame seeds.

Super easy, refreshing and healthy dish perfect for the summer!  This would be great with any type of kim chee that you can find.  And if you are lucky enough to have a Korean Market near your house, imagine how good it would be to add in a variety of their marinated veggies that they always have.  YUM!  

Cucumber Kim Chee

My Aunty Jane makes this recipe, which she shared with my mom and now I am sharing with you!  In Hawaii this is the kind of recipe that neighbors share, friends pass along little jars to each other and if you are a “nice girl” you bring if over for your friends mom as well.  (They love that!)  I love Kim Chee Cucumbers since it’s a nice bit of crunch with that spicy kim chee flavoring.  This is so easy to make, this will become a staple in your refrigerators.     

 

Cucumber Kim Chee
From Aunty Jane

4-5 medium Japanese Cucumbers, (Persian works too)
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Hawaiian Salt (Rock Salt)
3-4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. Kim Chee Base
1 tsp. paprika

Note:  You can find Kim Chee Base at most asian markets or on Amazon. 

1.  Cut cucumbers into cubes or thick slices.  In a bowl combine cucumbers, sugar, salt and vinegar.  Mix well and let stand for 1-2 hours.  *I only used 3 Tbsp. of sugar, it depends on your personal taste.*

2.  Taste one of the cucumber pieces, if needed do a quick rinse of the cucumbers.  *Only do this if it is too sweet to too salty.* 

3.  Add in Kim Chee Base and paprika to the cucumbers.  Mix well and bottle and refrigerate. 

I love to eat this with a hot bowl of rice, with soba noodles or lately I snack on them a little before dinner.  This will keep for about 3 weeks once refrigerated in an air tight container. 

Pork Kim Chee Shirataki Noodles!

If you've been on a low carb diet or Weight Watchers, you've most likely heard of Shirataki Noodles.  Known as the "miracle noodle" these babies have 0-3 grams of carbs, 0-20 calories, no cholesterol, sugar free, gluten and dairy free! These noodles are made of konnyaku (a member of the yam family) a water soluable high fiber substance.  My favorite is the Tofu Shirataki Noodle, since I like the texture a lot more than just the konnyaku noodle. 

These noodles are great in soups and stir frys, but to be honest I don't love them as Italian pasta dishes.  But, if you want to try them, Hungry Girl's website has a ton of recipes.  I have also been trying to eat a lot more veggies, so these noodles are a great way to incorporate them into a meal.

Pork Kim Chee Shirataki Noodles

1 pkg Tofu Shirataki Noodles
0.5 lbs pork, sliced paper thin
2 cup baby bok choy
1.5 cups bean sprouts
0.5 cups sliced mushrooms
0.5 cups water
1 cup kim chee
2 Tbsp Kim Chee base
1 tsp sesame seed oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
5 stalks mira (or green onions)

Prep:  Rinse Shirataki Noodles well several times (there will be a stinky smell- so don't skip this step!).  Microwave the noodles for one minute and blot with a paper towel.  *This will help get rid of the weird odor you will smell when you open the bag*

1.  Heat large skillet or wok on medium to high heat.  Add in bok choy, bean sprouts and mushrooms to pan and pour 1/2 cup of water into pan and cook vegetables.  Cook and let water start to evaporate from pan.

2.   Push veggies to perimiter of the pan and add 1 Tbsp of Kim Chee base, 1 tsp sesame seed oil and 1 Tbsp soy sauce to the middle of the pan.  Add in thinly sliced pork.  *If you don't use paper thin pork, cook pork beforehand in a seperate pan.*  Mix sauce, veggies and pork until pork is completely cooked.

3.  Add in chopped kim chee, Shirataki noodles and other Tbsp of Kim Chee base.  Mix until noodles are heated through and evenly coated with sauce. 

Makes 2-3 servings

Not only is this super low cal, but it is also super filling!  Some people do not like the "different" texture of the Shirtaki Noodles but with all the different veggies textures I don't even notice!

Baked Kim Chee Mochiko Chicken

I have a confession, I miss fried chicken and it misses me.  Besides the fact that I know fried chicken won't help me with my fitness goals, nowadays I am just too lazy to heat up a pan of oil and stand over the stove frying chicken.  This recipe solves both those problems!!  Seriously- I do not lie when it comes to Japanese style mochiko chicken.  This chicken is so moist and flavorful and it will go excellent in your next bento box. 

I created this recipe because the last time I went home my Auntie had given me a bunch of NOH mixes.  I'm normally not a fan of pre made spice mixes because of all the excess salt and chemicals that come in them.  If you have korean/asian ingredients on hand, you could easily use kim chee base or gochijang instead of the NOH packet.

Baked Kim Chee Mochiko Chicken
adapted loosely from Hawaiian Airlines cookbook


3lbs chicken, cut into even sized pieces
1 package NOH Kim Chee mix
1/4 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
4-5 stalks green onions
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup mochiko
1/2 tsp paprika
2-3 Tbsp oil

1.  Pre heat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Sprinkle NOH Kim Chee mix and shoyu over chicken and mix over chicken.  Set aside for 30 minutes.

2.  Combine flour, mochiko and paprika in a plastic bag.  Add chicken into the bag and shake and coat chicken well. 

Shake, shake, shake!

3.  Line a cookie sheet with foil and drizzle the 2-3 Tbsp of oil onto the foil.  Place chicken in an even layer on sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes and turn chicken over and bake for another 10 minutes.

The chicken came out great and totally delicious!  I would definitely make this again!  A nice light coating covered the chicken and some pieces crisped up nicely, just like veggies do when you roast them.  I packed up the chicken for a bento lunch with some veggies and a brown rice musubi!

Kim Chee Mochiko Chicken in my Bento!