Marinated Chicken Breast with Soba Noodles

The Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, held on Sundays from Sunday 10 am - 2 pm at the corner of Agate and 19th Ave, offers a wide selection of fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm and pastured meat and poultry from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm. 

Last week we picked up chicken breasts from Fog Hollow Farm for Sunday's dinner. I thawed them in a fish sauce marinade inspired by one from Andrea Nguyen's Vietnamese Food Any Day and then roasted them along with some sliced carrots, to soak up the extra marinade and chicken juices.

From Camas Swale Farm, we'd purchased a bunch of bok choy rabe that I stir fried with a bit of plum sauce, some summer squash that got a splash of Chinese vinegar, and some broccoli that roasted along with the chicken. Then I served everything with room temperature dressed soba noodles in a bibim guksu. This is the perfect meal for a warm summer evening when you have lots of fresh summer produce to enjoy.

Marinated Chicken Bread with Soba Noodles

2 bone in chicken breasts
4 carrots or other root vegetables of your choosing

marinade
3 garlic cloves
4 green onions
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
Mince the garlic and green onions and combine with all of the other marinade ingredients. Marinade the chicken breast for at least one hour (if you purchase frozen breasts from Fog Hollow Farm, you can let them thaw in the marinade).
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the chicken with the marinade in a small baking dish. Cut the carrots or other root vegetables into thick slices or chunks and spread over the remaining space in the baking pan. Bake for about 30 minutes until the chicken breast is cooked through, basting occasionally with the marinade. Allow the cooked chicken to rest and then cut into slices. 

noodles
300 g (3 circular packets) of soba noodles
Cook in salted boiling water until barely cooked through (about 5 minutes), then immediately rinse under cold water until entirely cooled. Toss with the noodle sauce (recipe immediately below) 

noodle sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Korean gochujang paste for a mild, kid-friendly sauce, or more as desired 
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Mix together all the ingredients. Taste and adjust flavorings as desired. Use to coat the cooked soba noodles

sweet and sour zucchini
2 zucchini
salt
2 Tbsp cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Chinkiang vinegar
Quarter the summer squash lengthwise, and slice thinly. Toss with 1/2 tsp salt, mix well and set aside for 30 minutes or so to sweat. When you are ready to cook, squeeze the slices to get rid of excess water. Heat a wok over a high flame. Add the oil, then the garlic, and stir-fry for a few seconds until you smell its fragrance. Add the squash and stir-fry until they are hot and just cooked, but still a little crisp. Add the sugar and vinegar, with salt to taste, stir a couple of times, then tip on to a dish and serve.

bok choy rabe with plum sauce
1 bunch bok choy rabe
1 Tbsp canola oil
salt to taste
1 tsp plum sauce
Slice the rabe into 1 1/2 inch long sections. Heat a wok over high heat. Add the canola oil and sear the rabe, with a generous pinch of salt, for a couple of minutes until it turns bright green and is your desired level of cooked. Stir in the plum sauce and serve.

For the bibim guksu, serve the soba noodles at room temperature with the chicken slices, roasted carrots, zucchini, bok choy rabe, and kimchi. 

Peanut Sauce Noodles with Kale Rabe

The Lane County Farmers Market is now in full swing. Today I found the tenderest baby radishes and carrots and this vibrant green kale rabe. The name is inspired by broccoli rabe, but really just refers to bolting kale. One of my husband's specialties is peanut sauce noodles, which we usually serve with broccoli rabe and crunchy cucumber sticks. For this evening's version we used blanched kale rabe (cooked in a separate pot from the noodles to accommodate picky eaters) with spring radishes and carrots for crunch. A delicious spring meal.

Peanut Sauce Noodles

(serves four)

for the sauce
1 inch ginger
1 shallot
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp canola oil
drizzle of hot chili oil
1/4 cup peanut butter (preferably from ground peanuts)
1/4 cup tahini
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar
2 Tbsp rice wine
2 tsp soy sauce
~1 cup water to thin the sauce
a drizzle of sesame oil
Sichuan pepper corns, freshly ground

1 package udon noodles
1 bunch broccoli rabe or kale rabe

for garnish
cilantro
bean sprouts
lime wedges
cucumber sticks
other crunchy vegetables such as radishes or carrots
peanuts
Sriracha sauce

1. Set a pot of salted water to boil for the noodles. If cooking separately, also set a pot of salted water to boil for the greens. Rinse the greens, trim off the thickest part of the stems and cut the rest of the stems into 1 inch sticks and rough chop the leaves.

2. Peel and finely mince the ginger, shallots, and garlic. You can do this quickly in a mini food processor. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the canola oil and chili oil and saute the minced aromatics until soft. Add the peanut butter and tahini, sugar, black vinegar, rice wine, and soy sauce. Mix and simmer over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Add water as needed to thin to the desired consistency. Taste and add more soy, sugar, or vinegar as needed. When the sauce is ready, add a drizzle of sesame oil and freshly ground Sichuan pepper corns to taste, and remove from heat. 

3. When the water is boiling, add the noodles and cook according to the package directions. You can add the greens to the pot when there are five minutes remaining for the noodles. Or blanch the greens in a separate pot for about five minutes. 

4. Toss the cooked noodles (and greens if combining) with the peanut sauce. Serve the noodles with all the garnishes for people to add to their plates as they like.