Chicken and Broccoli Lo Mein

Another busy weekend out here in Kentucky!

The hubby only had a 2 day weekend (so rare these days!) so we had to make the most of it. Saturday, we had to run out to Sam's (our version of Costco) and the grocery store to get ingredients for the Red Velvet Cupcakes. Once I got home, the cupcakes took quite a while to make, thanks to all the parts of the recipe that have to cool. We had a linner on Saturday, so I didn't even cook dinner that night. Yesterday, we had to get up early and do the grocery shopping since we were heading out to the hubby's sister house in the afternoon to celebrate his mother's birthday. Only a couple of hours were spent at his sister's, because the hubby had to book it to our property and map out the septic system since we have our first inspection on Friday. He dropped me off at home first so I could pick up the house, and finally cook a dinner. Whew!

So, another Asian dish. I've been craving Chinese lately, probably due to the fact that there are no Chinese restaurants in Ashland. I take that back, there are a couple of Chinese restaurants, but they look like roaches run the place. So gross. No biggie, I can do stir-fry all by myself!

Stir-fry requires prep. Sliced onions, broccoli, and minced garlic

Another quick sauce! Brown shugga', fish sauce, soy sauce, and chile past with garlic. Fish sauce is one of the most foul smelling things out there, but for some reason (I can't even explain it!) the flavor mellows when cooked.

Whisk all together.

Brown your chicken. It doesn't need to be cooked all the way at this point, but it does need some lovely color on. As Anne Burrell would say, "Brown food tastes better!".

Saute your onions. Hopefully you don't need to cook the snot out of them, as I do.

Add in broccoli and garlic.

Add the chicken back in and cook it until it's done. Then throw in the cooked noodles and sauce and cook until heated through. Serve immediately, chopsticks optional :)

Ingredients:
8 oz cooked spaghetti (or chow mein noodles)
3 cups broccoli, chopped
1 tsp sesame oil

6 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp chile paste with garlic
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 large chicken breast, cut into chunks
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
Sesame seeds (garnish)

Directions:
1. Cook spaghetti to package directions. Place broccoli in a steamer basket and steam over  pasta while it cooks, 4 minutes. Remove broccoli from heat and set aside. When pasta is cooked, drain and then toss with sesame oil. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk soy sauce through chile paste. Set aside.
3. Heat peanut oil in a large pan. When hot, add chicken. Sear 2 minutes on each side or until brown. Remove from heat. Set aside.
4. Add onions to pan. Cook 3-5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and broccoli to pan. Saute for 2 minutes. Add chicken to pan, cook 2-3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add pasta and sauce to pan, cook 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
5. Serve immediately. Garnish with sesame seeds, if desired.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light