Culinary Escapade

I always have left over rotisserie chicken. Truthfully, with the price of a raw whole chicken upwards of $10 at my local supermarket, the cooked 1 kg roasted chicken at $7.50 is a much better deal.

Often part of the chicken goes to waste as I tend to forget about it after the initial meal. Most probably because I am not sure what to do other than sandwiches with it. To shake things up so to speak I decided to toss it into a noodle dish. While sesame noodles are apparently a staple Chinese take-out item, I personally have not had them nor have I seen them on menus here in Montreal.

I like sesame, I like noodles and I like chicken. Seeing as this is a cold noodle dish and chicken is just about one of the only meats I know of that is good cold, I decided to bring it all together in the same dish.

This is a super easy, super fast dish to make and yummy to boot. Even my picky eater husband liked it, so this is now going on my quick weekday supper repertoire. Omit the chicken if you are vegetarian.

Sesame Noodles with Chicken

1 lb fresh Chinese egg noodles
2 tbsp sesame oil, plus a splash
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar
2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste (do not substitute with tahini, it is not the same thing!)
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
chili-garlic paste to taste
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into matchsticks
green onions, sliced for garnish
sesame seeds

Method:

- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook 1 min or according to the package instructions, be careful not to overcook. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain the noodles again and toss with a splash of sesame oil.

- In a large bowl whisk together the remaining sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame paste, peanut butter, sugar, ginger, garlic and chili-garlic paste.

- Add noodles and chicken to the sauce and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with cucumber, sesame seeds and green onions.