Cold Chicken Sesame Noodles with Cucumbers

pretty much followed Mark Bittman’s recipe here for Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce, Chicken and Cucumers.

I had simmered a whole chicken the other night to make King Ranch Chicken Casserole, which we had for dinner and then my daughter took for lunch a few times and I had for lunch as well.  It is good at room temperature or heated a bit in a microwave.

Some of the chicken I turned into this nice rice, chicken and artichoke salad. The rest I used tonight for this fantastic sesame no0dle and chicken dish.  The dressing, made with peanut butter was fantastic!  Next time, and there will be a next time, I will chop the cucumber rather than grate it. Even grating it, I did squeeze out all the water, which he doesn’t mention but I think was crucial. Next time I might salt the cucumber, rinse and dry, then chop rather rather than grate. That was the only improvement I could think of, one of texture rather than flavor. Caveat: I have never ordered this in a restaurant, so have no idea what this is “supposed” to taste like. I can tell you that we thought it was great!

Dressing:

• 2 Tbs sesame oil
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 3 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced (I always use frozen!)
• 1 Tbs rice vinegar
• a few splashes of Tabasco sauce
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad

• 12 ounces fettucine
• 1 -2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
• 1 long cucumber, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup fresh scallions or green onions, minced

Heat a pot of water to boiling, season with a spoonful of salt and cook the fettucini (or Chinese egg noodles) until done, usually about 10-12 minutes. Drain and rinse.

Dice the cucumbers, shred the chicken, chop the green onion.

Whisk together the dressing of sesame oil, peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, rice vinegar, Tabasco sauce and pepper.

Toss the salad ingredients together (noodles, chicken, cucumber, and scallions. Dress with the dressing and toss together, then serve.

Delicious next day for lunch!

The basic formula is from How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart.

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp hot red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp sugar

Stir Fry:

• 1/2 a flank steak, sliced thinly against the grain
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs sherry
• 1 onion, cut in wedges
• some snow peas
• some broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
• some  green onions, sliced in 1″ pieces
• 1 Tbs garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs ginger, minced
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbs chicken broth
• 3 Tbs peanut oil

Mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Mix the chicken with the soy sauce and sherry and set aside.

Prepare all the vegetables, including garlic and ginger, and set aside, leaving in small piles on your cutting board or on a large plate.

Mix the cornstarch and the chicken broth in a small bowl and set aside.

Once everything’s ready, pour 1 Tbs of the oil in deep skillet and heat over high. Add half the beef and stir fry 2-3 minutes, until just done. Remove to a bowl and then stir fry the other half.

Add the remaining oil (2 Tbs) to the skillet and cook the onion until browned slightly but still a bit crisp (1 minute or so). Add the garlic and ginger. Add the broccoli and cook another minute or two, stirring frequently.

Add any other vegetables to the pan (green onions and snow peas) and cook another minute or two, until crisp but tender.  Return the chicken to the pan and stir it in.

Add the sauce and stir to coat. Add the cornstarch and chicken broth mixture and stir until everything is warm and the sauce looks a bit shiny and delicious!  If it seems too thick, you can add a bit of water or chicken broth.

Just to play a bit tonight I thought I’d cook something I might pack up the leftovers for in a bento lunch. I’m thinking we’ll both pack lunches because even though I work from home I hate break away from work and then “fixing” lunch. So I ‘m thinking we’ll each pack our lunches in the morning so I don’t have to think about mine either.

heart and snowflake shaped onigiri rice balls

So first I played with some onigiri (rice balls), using some cookie cutters I had around. I froze the extras, figuring we could pull them out later.

I made the rice in my new rice cooker. When it was done, I mixed in just a tad of rice vinegar, then shaped them, wetting my hands first in cold water and then pressing them into the cookie cutters.

I also used some tiny heart cookie cutters I had with some sliced cucumbers. I sliced up some red bell peppers just in slices.

The chicken was this fantastic sesame chicken from this blog I found.  The only change I made was to use sherry instead of raspberry wine recommended. Yum!

Just for fun I served it in these Rubbermaid divided containers since we don’t have “real” bento box containers.

First, the binding and the book production itself is fantatsic!  The cookbook is bound a bit differently than I’ve seen before, with spiral binding along the top third and the bottom third. There are pictures for at least half, and probably more, of the finished dishes and they are inspiring. The ingredients are called out clearly, the directions are clear and just detailed enough. Most recipes fit on a single page or are at least on facing pages (I hate having to turn a page in the middle of cooking!). Aside from all that, they “read” great (I’m pretty good at interpreting recipes by reading them through at this point) and the three I’ve tried have been fantastic.

If all you’re looking for is Ramen noodle recipes, tuna melts, and grilled cheese sandwiches, pick up a different book. But if you’re looking for creative recipes that will be fun to cook and don’t require much special equipment, buy this book or send it to your budding college cook.  I had hoped to have my daughter try out a few recipes but somehow summer job and a social life has gotten in the way. I will send her off to college with this book (after photocopying a few recipes!) since she has a kitchen in her dorm and is looking forward to cooking.

I’ve made a few Chinese Chicken Salad recipes before and this one takes the least effort and tastes fantastic. (If you like breaded chicken and are only cooking for one, try this recipe. )  The only change I made to this was to use peanut oil to cook the chicken breast in. Oh, and I had some sate seasoning from Pensy’s, courtesy of a client, so sprinkled some of that on the chicken, but I know it would be good, just different, without.  Oh, I also didn’t have any chow mein crunchy noodles. If you like those on your Asian Chicken Salad, use about 1 cup of them. I also added a cucumber.

• 1 Tbs peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup soy sauce, divided
• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 1/2 a large cucumber or 1 medium one
• 1 4 oz can water chestnuts, drained
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 Tbs sesame oil
• 2 Tbs rice vinegar
• 1 tsp chili paste
• 1 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 Tbs olive oil

Heat a nonstick skillet ove rmedium heat and add the peanut oil.  Add the chicken breasts and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, sprinkling with salt and pepper (and I added sate seasoning, but totally not necessary). Cook until lightly browned.

Add 1 Tbs soy sauce and cook another 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Cut one in half to check–you’re going to slice them up later anyway.   If the pan gets to dry, add some water.  Let the chicken cool a bit while you make up the salad.

Wash, dry and chop the lettuce and add to a large salad bowl.

Peel and grate the carrot (or use the peeler to cut into thin strips). Peel the cucumber and dice. Drain the water chestnuts. Chop the green onions.

Make the dressing: Mix together the remaining soy sauce (3 Tbs), sesame oil, rice vinegar, chili paste, brown sugar, and olive oil.

Cut the chicken into strips. Toss together the vegetables, chicken strips and salad dressing. Garnish with chow mein noodles if you’d like.

Oh  yum!  And you could leave out the chile paste if you don’t have any.

I made this along with Sesame Peanut Noodles. The other recipe I tried from here was for chicken breasts marinaded in an Asian bbq sauce. (Really, the recipes are not all Asian influenced. Just what my taste has been for the last few days! )

Other recipes in the book include Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Guacamole, Michigan Chicken Salad (with dried cherries, very intriguing!), homemade hummus, Omelets, Turkey Chili, a nice selection of vegetarian dishes, some grill based dishes, and some themed menus (Meditteranean, Italian, and Japanese) plus some nice desserts.

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp hot red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp sugar

Stir Fry:

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken cut in bite sized pieces
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs sherry
• 1 onion, cut in wedges
• some mushrooms, sliced
• some red pepper, sliced thinly
• some orange pepper, sliced thinly
• some  green onions, sliced in 1″ pieces
• 1 Tbs garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs ginger, minced
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbs chicken broth
• 3 Tbs peanut oil

Mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Mix the chicken with the soy sauce and sherry and set aside.

Prepare all the vegetables, including garlic and ginger, and set aside, leaving in small piles on your cutting board or on a large plate.

Mix the cornstarch and the chicken broth in a small bowl and set aside.

Once everything’s ready, pour 1 Tbs of the oil in deep skillet and heat over high. Add half the chicken and stir fry 2-3 minutes, until just done. Remove to a bowl and then stir fry the other half of the chicken.

Add the remaining oil (2 Tbs) to the skillet and cook the onion until browned slightly but still a bit crisp (1 minute or so). Add the garlic and ginger. If you were doing a different combination of vegetables and some took  longer to cook you might add the longer cooking ones now. (E.g. asparagus, snow peas, cabbage, peppers, and celery all take a bit longer to cook than mushrooms, water chestnuts, green onions, or shredded carrots. ) Cook another minute or two, stirring frequently.

Add any other vegetables to the pan (or all of them in my case!) and cook another minute or two, until crisp but tender.  Return the chicken to the pan and stir it in.

Add the sauce and stir to coat. Add the cornstarch and chicken broth mixture and stir until everything is warm and the sauce looks a bit shiny and delicious!  If it seems too thick, you can add a bit of water or chicken broth.

NOTE: If you’re serving this with steamed rice, as we did, start that going before everything else.

I served this with steamed rice and stir fried bean sprouts. The girls like their sprouts raw so I set aside a large bowl of raw ones and then cooked the rest.

Leftovers are delicious for lunch the next day!

I

• leftover cooked steak, about 1  cup of thin strips
• 4 cups thinly sliced green or Chinese cabbage
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
• 2 Tbs sherry (or shao hsing wine)
• 2 Tbs hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbs oyster sauce
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 a red pepper, sliced into thin strips
• 3-4 green onions, sliced thinly

Put the cabbage and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Let it stand15-20 minutes, then rinse in cold water and drain. Squeeze as much moisture as you can from the cabbage with your hands.

Heat 2 Tbs of the oil in a large deep skillet or wok. Add the strips of beef and heat briefly (since they’re already cooked. If you’re using raw strips or ground beef, cook until done.)  Add the wine, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil and stir fry for half a minute or so.

Add the cabbage, carrot, and pepper and stir fry another minute. Stir in the onions, keeping a handful aside for a garnish.  Put into a serving bowl and sprinkle the remaining onions on top.

This was a great way to use up leftover meat in a whole new way.

If you’re starting with raw meat, here’s her marinade. She says to let the meat marinade for 30 minutes so start that before slicing up the cabbage and other vegetables.

Marinade:

• 2 Tbs sherry or shao hsing wine
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs cornstarch
• 1 Tbs diced fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Other than boxes of macaoni and cheese the kids can make for their lunches, I don’t do many of these “dinner in a box” things. I usually find that they don’t save much time or add much flavor. All they add to is the cost of my dinner!  That said, if you’re in a hurry and want something that’s more like take-out than what you might normally cook, the Cashew Chicken we made last night was really quite good!  The directions were clear and simple and the food was a hit for 4 of us and I have a bit leftover for a nice lunch today.

They have a $1 off e-coupon you can print out if you want to give one of them a try.

1 package firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch cubes or so
2 Tbs black bean or hoisin sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
5-6 green onions, minced
1 cup yellow or red or orange bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1-2 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth

Cube the tofu and place in a bowl. Toss with the black bean or hoisin sauce and let marinate while you fix everything else.

Chop all the vegetables so they’re ready to go.

Heat the sesame oil and soy sauce in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir fry a few minutes. Add the green onions, carrots, and pepper slices and cook 5 more minutes, stirring frequently.

Add other vegetables like broccoli, snow peas, and water chestnuts. Add the broth. Stir and cook another few minutes.

Add the tofu and cook, stirring, another 5 minutes or so.

The menu was:

Sweet and Sour Tofu
Bean Sprouts and Garlic
Steamed Rice
Chilled Cucumber Salad

All the other recipes are posted previously so I linked to them. Here’s the Chilled Cucumber Salad.

5 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and sliced
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper

Dressing:
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbs diced ginger
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Scoop the seeds out of the cucumber and slice. Put the slices in a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and salt, mix, then chill for 30 minutes.

Mix the dressing ingredients together.

Drain the cucumber slicees and squeeze any excess liquid. Pour the dressing over and serve.