Sesame Soba Karaage Lunch Box Recipe
This sesame soba karaage lunch box recipe is fast, simple & satisfying. There is everything you need in a packed lunch: carb (soba noodles), meat (chicken), egg and salad greens.
What’s in my lunch box:
- The sesame soba noodles is the main carb of the lunch box. The soba noodles & veggies were tossed in a simple sauce made with Japanese goma (sesame) salad dressing, soy sauce & sesame oil. The ramen egg was already available in my fridge as part of meal prep.
- The karaage (Japanese crispy fried chicken) were leftovers from the day before. I bought a 500g box of cooked karaage from Donki but we barely finished half of it. The leftovers turned out to be a good thing (though unplanned) because they go into the lunch box the next day without a fuss:p Usually though, I will cook ready-made frozen karaage (either oven or deep fry), or make the karaage from scratch if there is time.
- The salad greens are a mix of assorted lettuce with cherry tomatoes and cucumber.
SESAME SOBA NOODLES (STEP-BY-STEP)
Cook soba noodles in boiling water, then drain the soba in a colander and cool the noodles under running tap water. Don’t discard the soba cooking water yet.
In a large bowl, add Japanese goma salad dressing, soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix it up with a spatula.
Add cooked soba noodles, shredded carrot, thinly sliced capsicum, chopped spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.
Mix the noodles well, adding some soba cooking water to bind everything together. Season the soba to taste with garlic salt & pepper. This soba noodles can be enjoyed at room temperature or chilled in the fridge.
Assemble the bento – I’m using an Ikea 365+ 1-litre lunch box. This lunch box keeps well at room temperature for half a day. Warm up the chicken karaage in the microwave before eating.
