Cantonese Chicken Mushroom Soba

Tonight is my anniversary, however I'm not feeling well. So instead of going out with Rick I stayed home and whipped up a quick Chinese meal. It turned out surprisingly well for a base recipe with no measurements.

Cantonese Chicken Mushroom Soba

1 pkg (12.8 grams) Soba (Buckwheat) Noodles
1 oz dried mushrooms
4 skinless chickenbreast cut into thin strips
1 lg clove of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 t white pepper
1/2 t black pepper
2 tablespoons of oil
1 1/4 cup of water
1/4 t soy sauce
7 or 8 whole spinach leaves, raw
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8th cup of cornflour slurry

Rinse your dried mushrooms and let them soak in the water for fifteen minutes or until soft. Save the water and mushrooms: set aside.

Heat your oil in a wok and cook garlic until just translucent. Add the oyster sauce quickly before the garlic burns, add the soy sauce, the peppers and bring to a boil quickly. Brown the chicken in the sauce, stirring frequently. Add the mushrooms and mushroom water. Stir and let it come to a boil.

In a seperate pot boil water (no oil, no salt) and add the soba noodles. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. They should be soft, but not mush. Drain then rinse in warm water to remove the resudual buckwheat 'soapiness'. Immiedietly put into bowls.

If the chicken mushroom sauce is too thick, add water. I didn't need to add any. Add the spinach leaves and saute just until soft. Stir in the slurry, allow to thicken for just a minute or two then serve immiedietly.

Serves 5 comfortably portioned.