These cold noodle bowls are the perfect hot weather meal! Noodles and greens get cooked in one pot and used as the base of the bowls. The sauce combines raw grated corn and tahini to make it creamy and add a subtle sweet corn flavor. Miso and sesame get used in the sauce and in the chicken marinade to give the bowls a deep, savory, umami-rich flavor. That chicken gets served on top of the noodles along with grated crunchy cucumber and creamy avocado. A fresh squeeze of lime and lots of fresh herbs top it all off!
Ingredient highlight
Soba noodles! are a Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour (often mixed with wheat flour). Buckwheat flour is naturally gluten-free, nutty in flavor, and dark in color. Soba noodles are a great source of protein, packing in about 8g in just 2 ounces uncooked. They’re also a good source of in iron, calcium, potassium, and zinc.
Find the most authentic buckwheat soba noodles at your local Asian grocery store.
Servings 4
Prep Time 15 minutes 
Cook Time 12 minutes Ingredients
For the chicken:*
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp mellow white miso paste
- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs or breasts
For the bowls:
- 2 ears of corn (½ cup grated)
- 6-8 oz soba noodles (or use udon, rice noodles, or spaghetti)**
- 1 large bunch leafy greens (kale, swiss chard, etc…)***
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp mellow white miso paste
- 1 tbsp grated ginger (or grate 2 cloves garlic)
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Toppings:
- 1 cucumber, grated
- 1 avocado, chopped or sliced
- Chopped cilantro or scallions
- Sesame seeds
- Lime wedges
- *You can also just top with regular grilled chicken or sub another protein. This just adds a lot of flavor to the bowl.
- **I used soba noodles and I think they work best here. If you have an Asian grocery store nearby, highly recommend getting soba noodles from there. They are so much better and more flavorful than the soba noodles you find at Whole Foods!
- ***If using greens (like kale) with tough stems, remove them. Keep the leaves whole so they are easier to remove – you will chop them later.
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Add soy sauce, sesame oil, and miso to a medium bowl and use a fork to mix/mash until combined. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Grill or pan-fry the thighs until cooked through (about 4-6 minutes per side). Slice them up.
For the bowls:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Into a large bowl, grate the corn on the large holes of a box grater. You can add the cobs to the boiling water along with the noodles to infuse more corn flavor, if you’d like. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. When there are 2 minutes remaining, place the greens on top and gently submerge them into the water.
- Use tongs to remove the corn (if using) and transfer the greens from the pot onto your cutting board. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water until the noodles are just lukewarm. Once the greens are cool enough to handle, squeeze out any excess water, then thinly slice it.
- In the bowl with the corn, add the sesame oil, tahini, vinegar, miso, ginger, and salt. Whisk until combined. You can use a fork to help mash/mix the miso in. Add the noodles/greens to the bowl and toss to coat.
- Serve the noodles topped with chicken, cucumber, avocado, herbs, sesame seeds, and a squeeze of lime.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Toss chicken in marinade + cook the chicken (grill or pan-fry)
- Grate 2 ears of corn (½ cup grated)
- Cook 6-8 oz noodles (+ 1 bunch leafy greens)
- Grate 1 tbsp ginger (or grate 2 cloves garlic)
- Whisk together the dressing
- Grate 1 cucumber
- Chop cilantro or scallions
Substitutions:
- To make vegetarian/vegan, use tofu in place of chicken. You can toss it in that same marinade and bake or pan-fry it. For vegetarian, you could also just top with a few fried eggs (add a dash of soy sauce to the skillet when you’re frying them).
- If you don’t have or can’t find miso paste, you can leave it out of the chicken marinade or replace it with 1 tablespoon sriracha for a kick. For the dressing, replace the miso with 1 tablespoon soy sauce. If the sauce is too thin/loose, you can add more tahini to thicken it up. Always taste and add more acid (rice vin or lime) or salt.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
- Dressed noodles: up to 5 days in the fridge
- Cooked chicken: up to 4 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Eat the salad chilled right out of the fridge or pop it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds just to take the chill off. I like to warm up the chicken to have a contrast of warm and cold together. Make sure to top leftovers with all the toppings and (most importantly) plenty of lime juice and herbs.
- The salad does get a little mushy in texture as leftovers, which is fine! Just top it with crunchy things like cucumbers or any other crunchy veggies.
- Top with fried eggs, tofu, or edamame in place of or in addition to chicken.
- Top with chili oil for next level status or sriracha for some spice.
Servings 4 Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 12 minutes Ingredients
For the chicken:*
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp mellow white miso paste
- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs or breasts
For the bowls:
- 2 ears of corn (½ cup grated)
- 6-8 oz soba noodles (or use udon, rice noodles, or spaghetti)**
- 1 large bunch leafy greens (kale, swiss chard, etc…)***
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp mellow white miso paste
- 1 tbsp grated ginger (or grate 2 cloves garlic)
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Toppings:
- 1 cucumber, grated
- 1 avocado, chopped or sliced
- Chopped cilantro or scallions
- Sesame seeds
- Lime wedges
- *You can also just top with regular grilled chicken or sub another protein. This just adds a lot of flavor to the bowl.
- **I used soba noodles and I think they work best here. If you have an Asian grocery store nearby, highly recommend getting soba noodles from there. They are so much better and more flavorful than the soba noodles you find at Whole Foods!
- ***If using greens (like kale) with tough stems, remove them. Keep the leaves whole so they are easier to remove - you will chop them later.
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Add soy sauce, sesame oil, and miso to a medium bowl and use a fork to mix/mash until combined. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Grill or pan-fry the thighs until cooked through (about 4-6 minutes per side). Slice them up.
For the bowls:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Into a large bowl, grate the corn on the large holes of a box grater. You can add the cobs to the boiling water along with the noodles to infuse more corn flavor, if you’d like. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. When there are 2 minutes remaining, place the greens on top and gently submerge them into the water.
- Use tongs to remove the corn (if using) and transfer the greens from the pot onto your cutting board. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water until the noodles are just lukewarm. Once the greens are cool enough to handle, squeeze out any excess water, then thinly slice it.
- In the bowl with the corn, add the sesame oil, tahini, vinegar, miso, ginger, and salt. Whisk until combined. You can use a fork to help mash/mix the miso in. Add the noodles/greens to the bowl and toss to coat.
- Serve the noodles topped with chicken, cucumber, avocado, herbs, sesame seeds, and a squeeze of lime.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Toss chicken in marinade + cook the chicken (grill or pan-fry)
- Grate 2 ears of corn (½ cup grated)
- Cook 6-8 oz noodles (+ 1 bunch leafy greens)
- Grate 1 tbsp ginger (or grate 2 cloves garlic)
- Whisk together the dressing
- Grate 1 cucumber
- Chop cilantro or scallions
Substitutions:
- To make vegetarian/vegan, use tofu in place of chicken. You can toss it in that same marinade and bake or pan-fry it. For vegetarian, you could also just top with a few fried eggs (add a dash of soy sauce to the skillet when you’re frying them).
- If you don’t have or can’t find miso paste, you can leave it out of the chicken marinade or replace it with 1 tablespoon sriracha for a kick. For the dressing, replace the miso with 1 tablespoon soy sauce. If the sauce is too thin/loose, you can add more tahini to thicken it up. Always taste and add more acid (rice vin or lime) or salt.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
- Dressed noodles: up to 5 days in the fridge
- Cooked chicken: up to 4 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Eat the salad chilled right out of the fridge or pop it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds just to take the chill off. I like to warm up the chicken to have a contrast of warm and cold together. Make sure to top leftovers with all the toppings and (most importantly) plenty of lime juice and herbs.
- The salad does get a little mushy in texture as leftovers, which is fine! Just top it with crunchy things like cucumbers or any other crunchy veggies.
- Top with fried eggs, tofu, or edamame in place of or in addition to chicken.
- Top with chili oil for next level status or sriracha for some spice.
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