My Kitchen Love

making everyday family meals extraordinary

Kiwifruit Chicken Soba Noodle Salad

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I can tell you the whole family loved this dish. In fact, I had a difficult time keeping the SunGold Kiwifruit away from tiny toddler fingers who could not get enough. Kiwifruit Chicken Soba Noodle Salad was a total win with adults and kids alike. SunGold’s are sweeter and “less furrier” (as my toddlers like to say) than bright green kiwifruits. In addition, the SunGold’s taste like a cross between strawberries and mango … My mind is reeling with the recipe possibilities of that description (specifically, margaritas … am I right?). This flavour profile is what makes kiwifruit great in savoury dishes like this one; the sweetness balances the spice and saltiness from the other ingredients in the dish.

* This post is sponsored by Zespri Gold Kiwifruit, however, all opinions are mine alone. 

Kiwifruit and Chicken Soba Noodle Salad | My Kitchen Love

Some of you might be questioning my sanity with regards to adding kiwifruit to a savoury dish, but we often add mangoes to curries or strawberries to salad so the flavours work here. It worked so well that I’d love to find other ways to incorporate kiwifruit into everyday meals my family will enjoy, the health benefits combined with the great taste make serving kiwifruit a no-brainer.

As a busy mom I like the shelf life of kiwifruit as well. I won’t waste food if I don’t get to it within a week; park kiwifruit in the fridge and I’ve got a heavy hitter on the backbench waiting to be put in the game for up to 2 weeks. Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit is available May to October at most local supermarkets, however more information and recipes can be found on the Zespri website.

Kiwifruit and Chicken Soba Noodle Salad | My Kitchen Love

All of us enjoy eating kiwifruit and are fans of how easy it is to eat using the cut and scoop method. Literally cut a kiwi in half and scoop the luscious fruit directly into your mouth. They’re perfect snacking food in addition to being a great addition to any meal.  It makes a perfect baby food since it’s naturally soft and unbelievably healthy. I knew kiwifruits were high in potassium (more than the average banana!!), but I had no idea of the other astounding health benefits, from your daily intact of Vitamin C to the low calorie, Vitamin E, and high fibre attributes.

Kiwifruit and Chicken Soba Noodle Salad | My Kitchen Love

Kiwifruit and chicken go very well together, but adding in the soba noodles for additional (plant-based) iron and fibre is a great go to for any busy individual.

Yields 4

Kiwifruit and Chicken Soba Noodle Salad

Refreshing and healthy Kiwifruit and Chicken Soba Noodle Salad

5 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

25 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

  • 400 gr. chicken breasts (about 2 large)
  • 8 oz. / 250 gr. soba noodles
  • 3 kiwifruit (SunGold or green), peel removed and sliced into rounds
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems)
  • 1 red Thai chile, seeds removed, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
  • 1 garlic clove, minced

Instructions

  1. Preheat grill or oven to 375°F. Cook chicken breast for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway. Remove from heat and set aside to rest.
  2. Cook soba noodles as per package instructions and rinse thoroughly with cold water once cooked.
  3. In a large bowl whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Add noodles to bowl and toss with sauce.
  4. Slice chicken into thin stripes for serving.
  5. To serve layer bowls/plates with noodles, chicken, kiwifruit, bell pepper,and green onion. Sprinkle with cilantro and Thai chiles.
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https://www.mykitchenlove.com/kiwifruit-chicken-soba-noodle-salad/

Enjoy!

This post is sponsored by Zespri as part of the Zespri Gold Kiwifruit Cut & Scoop Campaign. My Kitchen Love has been compensated monetarily and with product, although all opinions remain my own. 

Korean Chicken Kebabs

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I’m fairly obsessed with gochujang. I’m the Feed Feed Editor for it and I find ways to work into meals regularly. It is a chile paste, so it has some spice behind it, but when paired with honey, mirin and other sweet ingredients gochujang becomes less about the spice level and more about the depth of flavours. Since I’m a total wimp when it comes to spicy foods it is somewhat ironic that I love gochujang so much. Here, I created Korean Chicken Kebabs with Quick Pickled Vegetables to serve with rice. It’s crazy yummy and comes together quickly.

I had to look up kabob vs kebab to title this recipe. Seriously, the things I Google are probably the most boring topics on the planet to most people. Anyways, I found out (if Google is telling me the truth) that a kabob is also more directed towards meat AND vegetables interspersed on a skewer, while kebab is solely meat on the skewer. And, can we chat about the fact that kids love the idea of kebabs. Food on a stick? You’ll have a line of kids ready to eat dinner with this one. If you’re keen to add vegetables to the skewer, bell peppers, zucchini, and carrots will work well.

Korean Chicken Kebobs | My Kitchen Lvoe

What is gochujang? That’s an excellent question. 😉 It’s a chile paste made from chilies (obviously), fermented soy beans, salt, and sticky rice. It’s very thick and a deep crimson colour. For decades gochujang has been a staple in Korean homes. Traditionally used for marinades, added to stews, and added to sauces to accompany dishes like bibimbap. It’s not like the type of hot sauce you’re probably familiar with (sriracha or Tabasco), gochujang is usually added to dishes to create more interest and depth or it should  be cut with other ingredients like soy, mirin, honey, etc. when acting as a finishing sauce.

I find gochujang fits perfectly with rice vinegar (they both are made from rice making that a great pairing) and honey. The sweetness of honey balances out the salty/spice levels of gochujang and creates the most wonderful sticky sauce. I have a recipe for some seriously sticky finger goodness chicken wings, here. Although spicy, it’s not crazy burn your mouth spicy. I don’t feed my kids sriracha, but they do eat gochujang.

Korean Chicken Kebobs | My Kitchen Love

Quick pickled vegetables are one of the best things to serve with gochujang dishes. The high acidity level cuts through the spicy heat and immediately cools things off. Here, the quick pickled salad has celery, cucumber and green apple in it. All have sharp and fresh flavours and a study texture that can handle being placed in liquid for the “pickling” process. I used the celery tops and leaves in this recipe. At the last cookbook club session (read all about that here),  I had the opportunity to try a salad made from the entire celery and I really liked it, not only for saving food waste, but for its flavour. I’ll definitely be adding more celery leaves to my salads in the future. Do you use celery leaves in any way?

Yields 4

Korean Chicken Kebabs

Grilled gochujang chicken kebabs are ready in minutes and perfect for an easy dinner with rice and pickled vegetables.

1 hrPrep Time

10 minCook Time

1 hr, 10 Total Time

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Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts, about 1 lbs / 454 gr, cut into 1" chunks
  • 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean chile paste)
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/4 mirin (sweet rice wine)
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • Quick pickle vegetables:
  • 2 mini cucumbers (or 1/2 long cucumber) thinly sliced
  • 1 green apple (Granny Smith), thinly sliced into matchsticks or rounds
  • 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced including leaves and tops
  • 1 red (Thai) chile, seeds removed and thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar

Instructions

  1. In bowl (or freezer bag), mix together gochujang, garlic, soy, miring, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Add chicken pieces and toss until coated with gochujang mixture. Chill and allow to marinate for 1-24 hours.
  2. Preheat grill to high heat.
  3. Remove chicken from fridge and place chicken pieces on metal or (soaked in cold water) wooden skewers.
  4. Place skewers (horizontally) on grill and reduce heat to medium.
  5. Rotate a 1/4 turn every 4 minutes or once the grill side is browned while keeping the lid closed if bbq-ing.
  6. Meanwhile, whisk together rice vinegar and sugar in a medium bowl. Toss with cucumber, apple, celery and chile.
  7. Serve kebabs with cooked rice and quick pickled vegetables.
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https://www.mykitchenlove.com/korean-chicken-kebabs/

Both recipes inspired by recipes found in Donna Hay’s The New Easy.

Enjoy!