Cold Chicken Soba Noodles with Rice

A couple weeks late, but I had created cold soba with chicken and rice as a summer treat. I know what you're thinking - cold noodles sound gross, but actually, with tsuyu, the dipping sauce made for noodles in Japan, it's really delicious!



Recipe (serves four):

+ 4 c. white sushi rice
+ 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
+ 4 bundles buckwheat soba noodles (available at any asian mart)
+ 1 jar of tsuyu (soup base for Japanese noodles)**
+ 2 sheets of nori (dried seaweed)
+ sprinkle of sesame seeds

**A note about tsuyu: Some tsuyu is ready-made, while other is in a concentrated format. Know which one you're buying before you serve it! Both are fine, but you must water down the concentrated tsuyu first. If you don't, you'll be in for a nasty (and strong) surprise.

Wash your rice - put the rice in the rice cooker along with the water (follow instructions via your rice cooker), and set. Boil water, and put in the soba noodles - when they rise to the surface of the water they will be done. When the noodles are done, place them in a colander and cover the noodles with ice, as well as run cold water over them. Let the ice set.

In a frying pan, cook cut up chicken breasts in 1/2 c. olive oil. Once done (the noodles should be chilled by now), place the drained noodles in four bowls and top with equal portions of chicken. Cut the two sheets of nori into tiny squares and place equal portions on top of the chicken.

In a separate bowl, pour the tsuyu. If it is concentrated, pour 1/3 tsuyu, 2/3 water into the bowl.

Take the rice out and garnish with sesame seeds. :)