These noodles are SO much better than most of the cold sesame noodles from takeout joints. This is also an excellent meal for those of us who like an empty fridge once a week so as to have the opportunity to wipe down shelves before replenishing supplies. Just add whatever vegetables you have hanging around in the hydrator, and a protein - or not. Ground pork, shrimp, rotisserie chicken - they all work as does ground chicken, which is what I had on hand (along with grated carrot, a bamboo shoot, zucchini, spring onion, shredded Brussels sprouts, leek, all the bits and bobs that I hadn't used in this week's meals).
Because there is both meat and tons of veggies in this dish, the usual 4 portions of pasta could actually have stretched to include a generous lunch portion for one, which I was banking on. Since I live with a 16 year old, this actually turned out to be dinner for 2 and a large teenaged size snack later in the evening.
1 lb protein, in my case ground chicken
4 cups diced vegetables
4 portions of spaghetti noodles (or flat noodles if you have them which will absorb more sauce)
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsps ground fresh ginger
2 tsps sesame oil
2 tsps hot sauce
2 tsps brown sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tsps vegetable oil
Set a pan of water on to boil for the pasta.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil. As soon as it is shimmering, add the ground chicken and salt well. Cook, stirring constantly and breaking up any chunks, until it is nearly cooked through and shows only a little pink at the center, a couple of minutes at most.
Add the peanut butter, soy sauce, ground ginger, sesame oil, hot sauce and water to the skillet containing the chicken and lower the heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the peanut butter and sugar have melted and combined with the other ingredients and made a thick, rich sauce. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning to your liking - more hot sauce, more brown sugar, more salt. etc.
By this time, the pasta water should be boiling away so add the noodles and cook for one minute less than the instructions on the package before draining. Retain 1/3 cup of the cooking water to add to the sauce.
Once you have the sauce to your liking, add all of the vegetables to the skillet. Stir to combine with the chicken and sauce, cover and cook until the pasta is ready.
Drain the pasta but first add 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water to the skillet with the sauce. Stir to combine, check for seasoning one last time, and add the drained pasta to the pan.
Using tongs, cook for a minute or so, stirring the vegetables, chicken, pasta and sauce together until the pasta is coated with the sauce and the veggies and chicken are distributed throughout the pasta.
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