Sesame Chicken and Noodles

We love Chinese-inspired fair- and Chinese take-out... but I hate the calories and fatty oil it seems to be made of!  Here's another make-over of one of my favorite dishes- sesame chicken.  

INGREDIENTS

For the noodles:

• 1 lb angel hair pasta or rice noodles
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame oil (some reviewers have said that 1/2 cup of oil is too much and have halved the amount, so use your own)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 TBS thinly sliced scallions (white and green parts)
• 1/4 cup sesame seed
• 2 cups veggies (thinly sliced peppers, broccoli, carrots, etc.)

For the chicken:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
• 2 TBS minced garlic
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger chopped (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• sesame oil, for sauteing (optional)

DIRECTIONS

First, the chicken: In a bowl mix the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, garlic, brown sugar and the ginger.  Make sure the sugar has pretty much dissolved.

Add the chicken, making sure it's all coated with the sauce.  Cover and stick in the fridge for 2-3 hours.  Or, if you forgot this step in the morning before you left the house, letting it marinate on the counter for 30 minutes is just fine too.  Remove the chicken from the marinade, and toss out the marinade left at the bottom of the bowl.

Heat the sesame oil in a large non-stick pan (if you're using it- and you don't have to).  Add the chicken and saute for about 10 minutes, or until done.  The marinade off the chicken should be enough to keep the chicken from sticking to the pan, so you can skip the sesame oil if you're so inclined.

For the Noodles: Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.  Throw in your veggies when you have about 4 minutes cooking time left (for angel hair this is pretty much right from the start).

In a bowl combine the soy sauce, sesame oil and the sugar.  Stir until well blended and the sugar has dissolved.  Drain the pasta and return to the pan.  Pour the soy mixture over the pasta.  Toss with scallions and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Add the chicken when done and toss together.

VERDICT

I'm not sure this is that much healthier than the usual version, but it does have vegetables, and you can pretty much cut back the sesame oil as much as you like.  And it is delicious!  Even the kids ate both the chicken and the pasta with no arguments- and that is a rare thing in this house :)