Soba Noodles with Bacon and Swiss Chard
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I recently realized how much dependant we are on rice. We cook rice most days mainly because that is familiar and is the easiest thing to prepare! I love my rice, but I don’t need it everyday. Anyway since I have enough quantities of of Basmati, jasmine, rosematta, Himalayan red and Kalijira rice in the pantry, we are good for a while. I still want to be prepared in case the rice shortage gets really bad, so I am going to make a conscious effort to incorporate more non-rice carbs into our regular meal plan.
Soba is a type of thin Japanese noodle made from a mix of buckwheat and wheat flours. This dish is loosely based on a pasta recipe from this month’s Bon Appétit magazine. The original recipe called for linguine, but I used Soba noodles instead, since a lot of Soba noodles recipes I found online suggested using linguine as a substitute. Soba is supposed to give a more nutty flavor. Since I used a Japanese noodle, I decided to use tamari sauce instead of balsamic vinegar and some toasted sesame oil instead of extra virgin olive oil. I also added some garlic and omitted the parmesan. I really really love bacon, so I didn’t really go for a substitute for that.
Ingredients
- 6 oz Soba noodles
- 4 oz bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2 ” slices
- thinly sliced leeks about 1/4 cup (substitute with red onion)
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 large bunch of Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped, about 3 cups
- 1 tbsp tamari sauce/light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
Cook the soba noodles according to the directions on the packet. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Rinse well with cold water and drain and keep aside.
In a large heavy pan, cook bacon for about 6 minutes until crisp. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour out all but 2 tbsp of bacon fat from the pan. Add onion or leek to the pan and saute over medium heat for about 6 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and Swiss chard and season with salt and pepper. Add the reserved liquid to the pan and toss till the chard is tender and wilted. Add the tamari sauce and cook for one more minute.
Add the cooked noodles and toasted sesame oil to the pan and toss to coat. Garnish with chives or green onions and serve hot.
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Category: Noodles
I have a packet of these, have to find a good, easy substitute for bacon – don’t want to add to my bursting pantry – maybe I’ll use chicken sausage!
Looks very tempting… I agree with the rice bit… I limit making rice to about 3 meals per week, but S gets very unhappy if I do it more than that. He loves rice and he believes that I am “depriving” him. I find rice the easiest to cook, but love eating the other stuff whenever possible
sig,
this recipe looks lovely…
Thanks for visiting my blog.yes u guessed it rite..Reg. ari undas, jaggery(i used black one,u can use yellow one also)-roasted rice gives the color .Also iam not an expert in photography.now trying to learn the techniques:))
A hearty colourful dish Sig…we have rice barely once a week and because of the weevil problems in high humidity like ours, i have stopped buying too much quantities or varieties of rice as i have to end up storing that also in refrigerator.
Since we have pasta, soba, Ramen and all other kinds of noodles, rice gets its turn on weekends with a good sambar or kootu
Those chopsticks look lovely!
I saw plenty of rice at the super market, what’s all this about rice shortage? May be shortage of just Indian rice? I cook rice 3 times a weeks max, but will miss terribly if I can’t get it at all.
Weekend was blazing hot here, planted some veggie plants, got allergy, headache and got a tan too!:)
Soba noodles look yum, I have never tried it but saw them at World Market,got to buy next time.
Kids LOVED Popcorn chicken, Trisha even took it to school for lunch!(home cooked lunch is not allowed here at school except sandwiches).Tushar could live on them,loves KFC PC too. Thanks Sig!:)
That looks really lovely. Love the addition of swiss chard.
Hey Sig,
Love the recipe..I keep planning to buy Soba noodles. This recipe might just be the perfect inspiration. Thanks!
Noodles look yum!! Sig..Never tried bacon with noodles..
Heard so much about these soba noodles. I will have to try sometime. Also I need to learn from you all to eat no-rice meals
.
lovely recipe..looks delicous..will definitely give it a try…:)
Looks awesome Sig. Have not tried Soba noodles. Don’t eat bacon but Shrimp might work?
aah! comfort food in a bowl, soooo very tempting!! i’m big on rice too
i tried a lot many substitutes, but always come back to my rice 
Lovely soba recipe, dear. I try to switch between various grain and grain based things as well. Not only does it help in generating some decent variation, but also helps that bag of rice and wheat flour last much longer
basically you have done what u wanted..subbed major stuff except the bacon and called it a day
..very versatile recipe tho..can make it without the ….. you guessed it 
…and are those chopsticks from ‘everythingchopsticks.com’??..cute!
What a gorgeous, simple recipe! Sounds delicious, Sig.
:nerd: sorry sig, this is an off the track question. do you know how to cook idli in a microwave when someone doesn’t have a idli making vessel.
Hi Sig… This is a different pasta dish…. Never tried this Soba noodles… Looks amazing…. Sounds healthy too…
Well, well, look who’s been hoarding all the rice in this time of shortage.
Well I was not aware that the crisis are acute…the noodles look delicious in the pic, but mez not too much into bacon though….
P.S. Sorry for the late reply, just now saw ur comment. As long as they are not cookbooks, i think u wud be fine
A novel dish again..thats what your blog has maintained.. beautiful and chatty posts with something new all the time.. Great work Sig!!
aaahh! those noodles look so delicious.
Lovely dish Sig!! Oh yes, I hear everyone talking about it and even prices have risen suddenly by 70% or more at supermarkets.
just another wonderful prep from you sig… it looks so tempting…
i have a small gift for you waiting in my blog….
This dish looks wonderful and it’s always nice to find a quick easy meal to make at home. Simple and delicious, can’t ask for anything more than that.
Hey, sig!
Thanks for visiting! Swiss chard is my new love, gotta try this dish!
Rinku