Spicy Peanut Noodles

If there's one food fear I can say I faced fully head on and mastered this year, at least in the extent of making something that's not only edible but pretty darn delicious, it would be Asian food. Now when I say "master" I'm taking major liberties, as I am no Chen Kenichi... yet, but I can whip up a pretty tasty stir fry. And that's a lot more than I could say a year ago. For also being the number one thing that I'll order take out of, well at least I can now make a homemade meal for not only a fraction of the price, but a meal where I'm controlling most of what goes into my meals as far as meat, veggies, sodium, etc are concerned.

Spice Peanut Noodles
3 Tbl. reduced sodium soy sauce or Tamari
2 Tbl. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbl. mirin
2 tsp. Chinese cooking wine
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tsp. brown sugar, or honey
1 Tbl. toasted sesame oil
1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
2 tsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 large garlic clove- sliced very thin
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
2-3 medium chicken breasts- cut into 1" pieces
Soba noodles- like these that I love
Vegetables: shitakes, onions, bok choy, cabbage, eggplant, etc
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Approximately 8-24 hours before dinner combine 1 Tbl. of soy/tamari with 1 Tbl. of rice wine vinegar and all of the cornstarch in a plastic bag and add the chicken breasts pieces. Let marinate in the refrigerator.

2. Prep all the vegetables as necessary. In a  bowl combine the remaining soy, vinegar, mirin, cooking wine, red pepper, honey/sugar, peanut butter and ginger and mix well. Set aside. In a deep stove top pan, set salted water to boil. Add the soba noodles and cook until they're soft. Remove and drain- you can also run under cold water to stop the cooking process depending on what stage you're at in cooking the vegetables and chicken.

3.Heat a large wok to medium high and add in 1/2 Tbl. sesame oil then stir fry the vegetables until soft and browned (I'll leave out the bok choy until the very end as I like that pretty crispy). Remove and drain on a paper towel.

4. Add the other 1/2 Tbl. sesame oil and then add in the chicken pieces. Cook until browned and not pink in the center, about 3-5 minutes. Add in the sliced garlic and let cook for a minute, then add in all the cooked vegetables and the noodles and toss together. Making a well in the center, add in the sauce and deglaze the wok. Serve with the toasted sesame seeds over.