Ingredients

• Fresh Ginger- ¼ cup, peeled and minced (*ChefKasQuickTip - peel ginger using a spoon.)
• Salmon (wild caught if possible) - 1-2 lbs
• Soba Noodles - 1 12 oz. packages
• Shiitake mushrooms – 8-12 oz., diced
• Eggplant – 1, peeled and diced (Prep only 1/2 eggplant as it will oxidize (go brown) quickly - only cut what’s needed and use tight plastic wrap and lemon to prevent oxidation. Reserve remaining eggplant for later on in Weekly Meal Plan
• Red onion – 1, diced small (store half for use later in the week Weekly Meal Plan
• Spinach – 8 oz. pre-cut ready-to-eat bag
• Red, Yellow & Orange Bell Peppers- 1 each, deseeded and diced into bite-size (store half of diced peppers combined for use later on in the week)
• Sliced almonds – 2 oz.
• STAPLES
• sesame or olive oil
• balsamic vinegar - ¼ cup
• soy sauce - ½ cup
• brown sugar - ½ cup
• minced garlic- 1 tablespoon
• salt – 1 teaspoon
• black pepper – 1 teaspoon
• crushed Red pepper flakes (optional)- 1 teaspoon (can be a bit hot, but adding just a bit will add another flavor element and complexity to your dish.)
• sesame seeds- 3 tablespoons

Instructions

Soy Balsamic Ginger Sauce:
1. Heat small sauté pan, reduce to medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons oil to coat pan.
2. Add ginger and stir regularly until nice golden-brown color develops. Reserve.
3. Add balsamic, soy sauce and sugar to ginger – stir until sauce develops- should lightly coat back of spoon.
4. Store half of Balsamic Ginger Sauce for Sesame Chicken
*ChefKasQuickTip – Making Ginger Sauce is healthier and less expensive than buying pre-made sauces from the store.
Noodles:
5. Follow directions for soba noodles on package to cook both packages. (*ChefKasQuickTip: The companies making these products want them to turn out well, so the instructions provided for noodles, pasta, rice, etc on the package are usually the best way to go, as they have been tested extensively)
6. Usually, the steps are: bring water to a boil, add noodles, cook for 6-8 minutes,
7. Before straining noodles, dip a glass measuring cup into pan to scoop out ½ cup of cooking water. After straining noodles, return to pot, and add 2 tablespoons sesame or olive oil and the reserved cooking water- then toss.
8. Store half of cooked soba noodles in airtight container for Weekly Meal Plan
9. Put non-stick, large sauté pan on medium-high heat. When pan is hot add 2 tablespoons sesame or olive oil to coat pan.
10. Add mushrooms and eggplant to sauté while moving vegetables every few minutes until a nice brown color develops.
11. Add onions and Balsamic Ginger Sauce, cover, and continue to stir until onions are soft and color develops on onions and ginger. Add a bit more oil if needed.
12. Add spinach, peppers, and almonds, then continue to sauté until spinach reduces.
13. Add in cooked noodles, and bring pan to high heat, to develop crispy texture on noodles.
14. Add a bit of black pepper, red pepper flakes, and splash on soy sauce, using it to finish the cooking process as it releases steam as it hits the pan. Taste, add more soy or other ingredients to fit your tastes.
15. Remove quickly from pan into serving dish as not to overcook, and garnish with roasted sesame seeds.
Salmon:
16. Slice salmon into portion sizes as appropriate
17. Set up roasting rack with drip tray (as for roasting a turkey), spray with nonstick coating, placing aluminum foil in bottom of drip tray
18. Heat oven to 350 F.
19. Season salmon lightly with fine salt and crushed black pepper.
20. Heat large non-stick pan over med-high heat until just before smoking (approx 6-7 minutes).
21. Use a non-stick cooking spray all over sauté pan, and place fish in pan. Fish should have nice sizzle upon contact with hot pan.
22. Carefully splash in 3 tablespoons oil - enough to lightly coat pan and salmon.
23. Salmon should develop nice medium-dark brown color and crisp along outsides without overcooking on inside. Adjust your heat as high as necessary so pan is hot enough to develop crisp on salmon without burning.
24. Upon achieving desired color and textured remove salmon to roasting rack. At this point you can put in oven to keep warm for a few minutes while setting everything else up. Put salmon in oven and turn off heat. The residual heat will keep salmon warm without overcooking, and give a few minutes to get everything else out.