With this dish I prepare everything before hand since it comes together so quickly in the end. What that means is I boil the soba noodles, chop my vegetables, mince my garlic and ginger and set out the necessary sauces. After its all laid out nicely it takes about 10 minutes to cook. Its good hot or cold so its excellent backpacking food if you’re going on a hike, camping etc.

Stir Fry

2 Tbsp peanut oil
1 Tbsp fresh ginger (minced)
2 Tbsp fresh garlic (minced)
1-2 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp black bean sauce
1 tsp hot chili sauce
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 lemon
3 scallions (cut into inch long pieces)
1 Chinese eggplant (cubed)
1 carrot (diced)
1 block tofu (frozen, defrosted, excess water pressed out then cubed)
buckwheat soba noodles
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds for garnish

1. Cook noodles.. after they are rinsed in cold water and drained, toss them with the sesame oil. Set noodles aside and prep other ingredients.

2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium. Add garlic, ginger and carrot. Stir until fragrant- just a couple minutes. Add tofu- let cook,gently stirring until tofu browns just a little bit. Add eggplant, cook until eggplant softens. Throw in scallions.

3. Add mirin, soy sauce, black bean sauce and chili sauce- adjust the measurements of these to your taste preference. I like it spicy so I go heavy on the chili . The mirin adds a nice sweet touch-always keep in mind that balance is key. Squeeze lemon juice onto mixture.

4. Cook, stirring on medium heat until all vegetables are softened and begin developing a golden hue. Toss stir fry mixture with cooked soba noodles. Top with toasted sesame seeds.