SZECHWAN CHICKEN PASTA

Wonderful served warm, fantastic served cold.  Either way enjoy!!!!

SZECHWAN CHICKEN PASTA
Delightfully delicious served either hot or cold this pasta dish is a must have recipe for summer. I love to serve it cold on a hot muggy evening. The trick to any Chinese-style dish is to have all the ingredients and sauces chopped and measured before even starting to cook. I put each ingredient in its own dish and line them up ready to go. When I start cooking it is just a matter of adding the ingredient as it is called for in the recipe; and the dish is done in no time whatsoever.  Even with the red chile flakes and chile oil, this is not a dish with a high heat level as there is a half pound of pasta to season as well as the chicken.

8 ounces linguine
Cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t grated fresh ginger
2 chicken breast, skinned and boned, and cut into 1-inch cubes,
about 1 1/2 lbs.
2 c fresh pea pods, coarsely chopped, about 1/4 lb.
1 sweet red bell pepper, cut in strips
2 green onions, chopped
3 T soy sauce
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 t chili oil*
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 c coarsely chopped peanuts

Ingriedents:  Chicken, pea pods, sweet bell pepper, green onions, ginger, garlic, linguine, chili oil, red pepper flakes, peanuts, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and cooking oil.

Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain. In a wok or a large frying pan, heat 1 to 2 tablespoon oil. Add half the chicken, stir fry until on longer pink inside; add peas, garlic and ginger. Stir fry one more minute. Remove from wok. Add more oil to pan or wok, stir fry rest of chicken. Add the red pepper, and onions. Stir fry for 2 additional minutes. Return chicken, peas, garlic and ginger to wok. In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil and red pepper flakes together. Add soy mixture and hot pasta to wok. Toss. Serve hot or cold garnished with peanuts. *NOTE: Chili oil is Chinese sesame oil and hot red pepper. It is available in the Ethnic section of large supermarkets. Chinese sesame oil and some extra red pepper flakes is a good substitute if you can’t find chili oil.

Grate ginger.  There is no need to peel ginger if you grate it on a microplane.

Mince garlic.  My cloves were small so I used 4.

Wash and chop pea pods.

Chop green onions.

This is a sweet bell pepper from the Farmer's Market.  It looks like a hot pepper but it is not.  Cut into strips.

Chop peanuts for garnish.

Mix ingredients for sauce.

Measuring red pepper flakes into sauce.

Cut up chicken.

Cook linguine according to package directions.

Remove a cup of cooking water.  Reserve to use if needed.  I didn't need it for this dish.

Drain linguine.

I bought my wok in 1972 in a shop that only sold woks in Chinatown,

Vancouver, British Columbia.  I brought it home on top of an big Chevy station wagon.  I have a relatively new stove and was thrilled that the Power Boil setting works well with my wok.

Stir fry half the chicken in a hot wok with cooking oil.

Add garlic and ginger.

Add pea pods.  Stir fry.

Remove chicken, garlic, ginger and pea pods from wok. Set aside.

Stir fry second batch of chicken.

Add red bell pepper and onions.  Stir fry.

Add hot pasta to chicken, red bell pepper, and green onions.

Add chicken and pea pod mixture to pasta mixture.

Add the sauce to the wok.

Mix well.  Ready to serve hot or cold.  Garnish with peanuts. Enjoy!!!!