Sesame Chicken Noodles

I whipped this up the other day with some chicken that I had stir fried and then went and forgot to post it! Sorry everyone!

The only problem I have with stir fry is all the dishes! Everything needs to be in it's own separate bowl before you add it all together. If you combine them before you should the texture comes out wrong. So a good dinner....and hopefully, some one else to wash up!

Sesame Chicken Noodles

1 lb chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 medium onion

2 green bell peppers

1 carrot

1 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil

1 tbsp agave syrup or honey

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp Tangerine Balsamic

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

1/4 cup white wine

2 eggs

1 sleeve soba noodles or spaghetti

1/4 cup chicken broth

Combine the cornstarch, Tangerine Balsamic and the wine in a bowl. Add in the chicken and mix until it is evenly coated. Let marinade for at least 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. 

Cook the soba or spaghetti until al dente. Rinse, drain and set aside. Dice the onion and bell pepper, cut the carrot into matchsticks. Beat the eggs together in a small bowl. Set everything aside in their own separate bowls.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the sesame oil up to very high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer. Give each piece some room in the pan cooking them in batches if necessary. Cook, without touching, for about 1 minute. When the bottom and sides are slightly charred and caramelized, flip the chicken and let cook again about 40 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the chicken to a plate.

Place the pan back on the stove, add the second tablespoon of oil and reduce to a medium heat. Once the pan is nice and hot, pour in the egg carefully and let cook about 1 minute. Chop into small pieces and stir for another 30 seconds or so. Remove to another plate.

Add the last tablespoon of Sesame Oil and the vegetables and ginger. Saute for about a minute, making sure to stir everything well to get a nice coating of oil. Add the chicken back in and stir to combine. Next add the chicken broth. Cook while stirring for 1 minute. Now add the egg and stir again. Continue cooking for 30 seconds to one minute. The liquid should be just about absorbed.

Add the noodles and the agave or honey and the sesame seeds. Toss everything to coat well and turn the heat to medium low. Cook until the noodles are warmed through, a minute or less. 

Serve.

Balsamic Swirled Shortbread

Shortbread is considered lucky. I have no idea why, and can't find out in a casual internet search. It has been a staple of my childhood new years eve's. If you know why it's lucky, please comment and let me know. It's baffling.

Maybe because it's golden and coin shaped?

I have made olive oil shortbreads before. They were spectacular. But I can't make them the same way twice! So this time I started with a standard shortbread and swirled some fun inside.

So what is your New Year's lucky tradition?

Balsamic Swirled Shortbread

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tbsp Tangerine Balsamic

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the flour in gradually and mix until the dough sticks together nicely.

Make a well in the center of the dough and sprinkle the balsamic in. Stir around, but not too well.

Break off pieces in tablespoon sized chunks and flatten into discs.

Bake for 11-13 minutes.

Zesty Asian Beef

Many asian dishes call for fish or oyster sauce. I thought this would be an ideal place to use the bottarga pate I mentioned last week.

I also have a lot of oranges left over to eat from the holidays. And nothing goes better with orange in my mind, like chili sauce.


Zesty Asian Beef 

1 lb beef strips
1 tsp bottarga pate
3 tbsp Tangerine Balsamic
4 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 orange (or tangerine), sliced for garnish

Mix all the sauce together with the beef strips and place in a bowl to marinade at least 2 hours to as much as 24 hours.

Set your oven to broil. Bring strips to room temperature. Discard the marinade. Spread them in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet. I suggest the Zesty Onion Olive Oil for this, it adds a little pop.

Broil for about 6 minutes, be careful to check on them halfway to make sure they aren't burning.

Serve with white rice and give everything a drizzle with the Tangerine Balsamic.