Today’s recipe is brought to you by the letters T and J. I love to gush about the unique products at Trader Joe’s and often find inspiration just wandering their aisles. Last weekend I stumbled upon this prepackaged organic broccoli slaw. I’m not a huge cabbage fan, so the use of the broccoli stalk, along with the traditional carrots found in a typical cabbage slaw mix was intriguing. Broccoli is my very favorite veggie.
The slaw made its way into my cart, along with a package of sesame sticks. We’ve been stocking these in our work snack drawer for some time now, and I thought grinding them into crumbs would make the perfect breading for some chicken breasts. Have you tried them yet? They’re like little savory toasty crackers made with wheat flour, soybean oil, and sesame seeds – very addicting! I especially like mixing them with wasabi peas and cashews for a fun and easy snack mix.
Both products ended up going into one of our favorite dinners this week – soba noodles! I coated thin chicken strips with the sesame stick crumbs and a healthy dose of white and black sesame seeds. Then I whipped up a spicy sesame dressing with sriracha for the soba noodles and added in my broccoli slaw for some crunch, along with a thinly sliced red bell pepper. The baked chicken strips went on top and an easy and tasty weeknight meal was born. I think I could be president of a TJs fan club!
Spicy Soba Noodles with Sesame Stick Coated Chicken and Broccoli Slaw
Spicy Soba Noodles with Sesame Stick Coated Chicken and Broccoli Slaw
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
Sesame Stick Coated Chicken:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sesame stick crumbs (I pulsed sesame sticks from Trader Joe’s in the food processor to make the crumbs)
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
Soba Noodles:
1 pound soba noodles
1 12-ounce package broccoli slaw from Trader Joe’s (about 5 cups of grated broccoli stalks and carrots)
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sriracha (or to taste)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Directions:
To prepare the chicken, heat oven to 350˚F. Place flour and salt in a shallow dish and mix well. Place eggs in another shallow dish and mix well with a fork. Place sesame stick crumbs and sesame seeds in a third shallow dish and mix well. Working in batches, lightly dredge the chicken strips in the flour, then the egg, and then the sesame stick mixture until well covered. Place coated chicken strips in a single layer on a large baking sheet and bake at 350˚F for 8 to 12 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
To prepare the soba noodles, boil the noodles according to package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water. Place in a large bowl, along with the broccoli slaw and red pepper strips. Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, canola oil, sesame oil, honey, sriracha, and garlic in a small bowl and mix well. Pour dressing over soba noodles and mix well. Even distribute noodles into bowls and top with chicken strips. Serve cold or at room temperature. Makes 6 servings.
Nutrition: 627 calories, 22.4g fat, 2.0g fiber, 35.7g protein per serving
Cost: $1.64 per serving