I don't know how in the world mayonnaise ever got invited to join in the cool Asian crowd, but diversity is good right? Well, it is really good as part of the recipe I used to make a side dish for a Fourth of July celebration we recently attended.
I wanted to use my cookbooks to come up with a dish using the leftover chicken we had from the previous bbq at our own house. (Here in Rye, Fourth of July starts on July 1st with fireworks at Playland and basically continues until after dark on the 4th.) Actually, does anyone know what in the world happened to the Playland fireworks on the 4th? Did they use up all the good ones? Was someone late for work? We they just messing with us?
Anyway, I have a decent cookbook collection. I know I could make interesting food for the rest of my life using them, yet the addiction to instant recipe searches have almost made me forget the pleasure of looking through the stained and sticky pages of much-loved cookbooks.
Here is a scaled down version of what is called "Chicken, Mein, and Vegetables in Creamy Szechuan Dressing". I've simplified it so I didn't have to shop for extra ingredients I didn't have on hand and admittedly, I halved the bit about the mayo dressing. As written, it called for 2 cups mayo and that's just excessive for one pound of pasta.
1 pound capellini
3/4 cup soy sauce, divided
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 cup mayo
1 1/2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 cup sesame oil
dash Szechuan chili oil (or use any hot sauce)
2 whole chicken breasts, cooked, sliced thin
2 carrots, peeled, chopped into half rounds
1 sweet red pepper, sliced thin
Cook noodles until very al dente (the box of capellini says 2 mins!) After one minute, throw in the carrots and red pepper so they will quick-cook.
Drain and toss in a large bowl with 1/2 cup soy sauce and the peanut oil. Stir around to coat evenly. Let cool.
Combine Mayo with mustard, sesame oil, the remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce and chili oil (hot sauce). Add to noodles, and add in the chicken.
Mix gently, using hands if necessary. Cover and refrigerate until using. It improves with time, but don't forget to take it our early enough to bring back down to room temp.
If presentation is a priority, toss some sesame seeds on top, and some green sprigs like parsley or cilantro. Also, if it seems dry, just add some more extra soy/ sesame oil, or peanut oil before serving.
This dish was well received at the party so I encourage you to try. Of course, it would be great with leftover pork, steak or tofu.