Tired of making the same dishes for your family every night and want to switch things up? Why not take something as basic as chicken and spaghetti and turn it into something entirely new? What’s great about the following dishes is that they utilize ingredients you normally work with or already have in your pantry, they are just reimagined.
Tonight, give your family a fun twist on pasta with teriyaki chicken paired with pasta, a classic Chinese recipe for “Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup,” or Sesame Kale Salad with Chicken Breast and Plums.
Teriyaki Chicken Breast with Black Pepper Spaghetti
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of broccoli (cut into smaller florets)
- 4 chicken cutlets
- 1/2 lb of dry spaghetti
- 3 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tsp course grind black pepper
- 3 tablespoon avocado oil
Easy “Teriyaki” Sauce
- 2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 cup agave or honey
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 tablespoon freshly minced ginger if you have it, otherwise 1/2 tsp ginger powder works
Method:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt in it.
- Toss spaghetti into boiling water.
- Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce and pour half of it onto the chicken, massage it and let it rest for 1-2 hours, covered and in the fridge.
- Heat a nonstick pan with a 3 tbsp of avocado oil to high.
- Remove chicken from bowl and blot dry with paper towel. Place your chicken into the hot pan and sear on both sides.
- Turn heat to medium cook for an additional 2 mins on each side.
- Toss the rest of the sauce into the pan with the chicken and turn the heat to high and let it reduce with the chicken. The sugars help caramelize the sauce and thicken it.
- Remove the chicken and place on the cutting board and let it rest
- The pasta should be done by now. Turn heat off and toss the pasta into the pan you had cooked the chicken in.
- Add broccoli into the pot of water and cook for 3 minutes.
- Toss the spaghetti in the pan with the leftover sauce that was used to simmer the chicken with.
- Add sesame oil, black pepper and incorporate.
- The sauce should be reduced and absorbed by the spaghetti
- Plate your spaghetti in a bowl and add the broccoli on the side.
- Slice your chicken into thin strips and place over the noodles.
Optional: Garnish with some toasted sesame seeds
Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup
I never met anyone who didn’t like chicken noodle soup as it solves everything. Feeling under the weather or homesick? A hot bowl of chicken noodle soup made by someone you love is the answer. Every culture and country has their own version of it, and oftentimes, our first experience with it, was a homemade version and it’s really the only way to have it. Here’s a classic Chicken Noodle Soup recipe that your family will love from my mom, made with an Asian twist!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 8 pieces of chicken thigh, bone in, skinless
- 1 knob of ginger, smashed
- 8 pieces of fresh shitake mushrooms
- Fresh egg pasta noodles (8-10 nests)
Method:
- Place chicken and ginger into the large stockpot
- Pour water in, until it covers the chicken and is above the chicken by 2 inches.
- Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 2 minutes before bringing down to simmer.
- Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 1.5 hours.
- Remove chicken from the pot and debone. Shred chicken into large pieces and set aside
- Add shitake mushrooms to the pot of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Season with salt and white pepper and taste (use 2 pinches of white pepper only) salt is up to personal preference.
- Use a separate pot and bring water to a boil to cook your egg pasta.
- Strain pasta and plate into a bowl. Top pasta with shredded chicken.
- Ladle broth on top of the chicken and noodles. Garnish with shitake mushrooms.
Sesame Kale Salad w/ Chicken Breast and Plums
This is a cool twist on a kale salad that your family will love. These days kale seems to be in everything, from chips, to all kinds of salads, and even pesto. This superfood has become quite the star for any balanced diet, and this dish highlights kale in a new way. This finely minced salad is easy to eat and can be enjoyed in many different ways. Use it for the filling for a wrap for a quick meal or snack, or place it between two slices of bread for a quick sandwich. This composed salad is even good as leftovers which you can’t really do with salads, usually. In fact, it becomes even more flavorful the next when it sits overnight as all the flavors meld. So make extras of this for your family during the week for lunches and sides.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 6 cups blanched kale
- 4 cups finely diced chicken breast (you can use leftover grilled chicken breast, poached chicken or leftover roasted chicken.)
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoon agave
- 3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- pinch of white pepper
- 4 plums (thinly sliced)
Method:
- Blanch kale and finely chop (simply place kale in a pot of boiling water and let it cook for 30 seconds. Remove it with a colander and run cold water over it. Drain all the water and pat dry with paper towel. Finely chop the kale and set aside)
- Finely dice chicken.
- Make your dressing by whisking everything together until fully emulsified. Toss chicken and kale with the dressing and use your hands to massage everything together.
- Plate the salad and garnish with sliced plums.