Green Tea Noodles with Ground Chicken & Zucchini

After yet another long hiatus (toddler mama over here…sigh), I am SO excited to finally share a new recipe that’s quick, super flavorful, and satisfies that Asian takeout craving that I always seem to get midweek. I discovered this package of Haiku Green Tea Asian Style Noodles at my local supermarket yesterday and was instantly intrigued. I love experimenting with soba noodles so thought I would give this one a shot and get all the benefits of green tea. Soba noodles are healthier since they’re made with buckwheat flour, but I really loved the flavor of these green tea noodles — subtle and not too overpowering!

Since time is a luxury these days, I paired the noodles with some ground chicken (cooks faster than regular chicken pieces), zucchini, and a quick homemade stir-fry sauce. The entire process took 15 minutes, and the meal was DEVOURED in less than ten. Give this one a shot — I guarantee you won’t be disappointed! Perfect weeknight dinner.

Ingredients (serves 2) 

3 rounds of the Haiku Green Tea Noodles, cooked in boiling water for 2 minutes and drained
1 lb ground chicken (you can also use beef or turkey)
2 tbsp Canola or avocado oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 small onion, sliced into thin long pieces
1 zucchini, diced
Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Stir-fry sauce

1.5 tbsp soy sauce
1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp Mirin/Japanese cooking sake
1/2 tsp honey
Pepper

Recipe

Combine the ingredients for the stir-fry sauce in a small bowl and set aside. Boil a pot of water and cook the green tea noodles according to directions for two minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add the ground chicken, break up into little pieces, and stir until cooked. Remove and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the same pan and fry the garlic, ginger, and onion slices together until the mixture begins to soften slightly. Add in the zucchini pieces and stir for a few minutes. Add the ground chicken and stir-fry sauce to the pan and mix well.  Finally, add the noodles to the pan and stir everything together until the noodles are nicely coated in the sauce and ground chicken mixture. Serve with toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy! My only regret is not doubling the recipe for more leftovers!

Sunday Dinners: Sweet & Salty Vietnamese Stir Fry

Sunday dinners are my favorite. There’s something so relaxing about spending a lazy Sunday bringing an entire meal to life – finding the perfect recipe, getting groceries, and then just chopping, stirring, and cooking away in the kitchen with a good playlist in the background. Sometimes my husband and I will cook together, but he’s been spending most of his weekends this summer at work (he’s a medical resident), so Sunday evenings are just my time to be alone and unwind in the kitchen. And I love it.

This past Sunday, I was inspired by a recipe from My Healthy Dish. If you haven’t checked out My Nguyen’s blog yet, do it! She was a panelist at the Create + Cultivate conference that I attended this past weekend, and I just fell in love with her sassy sense of humour and no BS attitude. Her recipes are super easy and healthy, perfect for a quick weeknight meal. She’s a mother of two, so she’s completely mastered the art of whipping up a quick meal without compromising on nutrition.

I followed her recipe for Vietnamese Caramelized Shrimp, but added some extra veggies (asparagus, zucchini, and green bell peppers) and cooked the shrimp and vegetables all at once with the fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and maple sugar. Yum! Paired with a light egg fried rice and I’m all ready for the work week 🙂

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