Sesame Soba Karaage Lunch Box
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.
See Also:
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.
Sesame Soba Karaage Bento Recipe
I am using Ikea’s 365+ rectangular lunch box with three inner compartments. You can use any microwave-safe lunchbox with a similar 1-litre capacity.
This lunch box keeps well at room temperature for half a day. If placed in the fridge, microwave the chicken karaage to warm it up before eating. The soba noodles can be enjoyed as a cold noodle or at room temperature.
Ingredients:
SESAME SOBA NOODLES
- 50g dried soba noodles
- 1 tbsp Japanese goma (sesame) salad dressing use half-calorie version for lower carbs
- 1 tsp light soy sauce to taste
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/4 peeled carrot shredded
- half bell pepper (capsicum) sliced to long thin strips
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp chopped spring onions
- 1/8 tsp garlic salt to taste
- pepper powder to taste
- soba cooking water use 1 tbsp at a time as needed
REST OF THE LUNCH BOX
- 200g cooked chicken karaage see cooking note below
- 2 serving of salad greeens
- halved cherry tomatoes & thinly sliced cucumber
- 1 ramen egg halved
- lemon wedges
Directions:
- Cook soba noodles. Bring a pot of water to boil, add soba and cook according to package instructions. Drain noodles in a colander and cool down under running tap water. Reserve half cup of soba cooking water.
- Make sesame soba noodles. In a large bowl, add goma salad dressing, light soy sauce and sesame oil. Stir with a spatula to mix well. Then add cooked soba, carrot, bell pepper, sesame seeds, spring onions, garlic salt & pepper. Toss to coat everything evenly in the sauce, adding soba cooking water to bind everything together. Season to taste.
- Assemble Lunch Box. Divide the sesame soba noodles, chicken karaage and salad equally among two lunch boxes (I’m using Ikea’s 1-litre 365 lunchbox).
Cooking Note(s):
- Chicken karaage. Buy cooked karaage from the supermarket deli OR bake/deep fry frozen karaage according to the packaging instructions. You can also make karaage from scratch if you have time.
- Salad dressing. I didn’t have a salad dressing on the day I packed this bento, so I just squeezed some lemon juice over the salad.