Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Sesame Ginger Noodles with Chicken

Adapted from Loaves and Fishes cookbook

My husband loves Pei Wei's Lo Mein.  This recipe isn't quite the same, but it is reminiscent enough that it became an instant success.  I love when a new recipe is a hit! 

So, some people are not excited to cook with cooking wines.  I actually prefer it when alcohol is in a recipe because it adds so much flavor, but if you are one of those who tends to shy away from using alcohol while cooking, there are substitutes.  You might just have to experiment a little bit.  The most common substitutes for sherry is orange or pineapple juice.  I think this recipe would work better with the pineapple juice over the orange juice.  But that experiment is up to you because I will probably stick with the sherry!

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup cooking sherry
  • 2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
  • ½ Tbs sesame oil
  • ½ tsp ginger
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Pepper, to taste
  • ½ Tbs. cornstarch
  • 2 ½ lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut in large bite-size chunks
  • 1 lb spaghetti noodles
  • ½ red pepper, cut into chunks
  • ½ green pepper, cut into chunks
  • ½ onion, cut into chunks
  • 5 baby Portobello mushrooms, sliced
  • Sesame seeds, to taste
Directions:

  • Mix brown sugar, soy sauce, sherry, red wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and pepper to make marinade.  Marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes.
  • Cook spaghetti noodles in salted water until al dente.  Place in a large bowl.
  • Saute chicken in olive oil at medium heat.  (Cooking chicken on too high of a temperature will cause the marinade juices to burn.)  Add veggies and cook until slightly softened.  Add to bowl.  As chicken pieces fully cook, remove from pan and place in bowl with noodles and veggies.
  • Add cornstarch to cold marinade, whisking the lumps out.  Then pour the marinade into the pan where the chicken was cooked and heat, stirring constantly until thick.
  • Pour sauce on noodle mixture and add a generous amount of sesame seeds.  Serve!
Notes:  Consider adding sugar snap peas to the dish next time.

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