Pantry Chicken and Broccoli 'Lo Mein'

Feeling like takeout, but want to stay at home and save some money? This recipe is easy to execute and full of bold and delicious flavors from the Orient. These ingredients are probably in your pantry and freezer already. The Lo Mein in this recipe is actually spaghetti, left over from a spaghetti dinner I made on a Friday night, two weeks ago.  The uncooked spaghetti was in a large sealed zip bag, but I wanted to go ahead and rotate my pasta stock, so I built a dish around it. Buying the 2 lb. package really saves!  

Some thawed chicken breast, frozen broccoli, peas and carrot blend, and some baby corn come together and BOOM! you've got a delicious one dish meal with all the right moves! 

The black sesame seeds are an added plus, but not necessary, the plain will do just fine.  I used some liquid aminos in this recipe to supplement some of the soy sauce and shave the sodium, just a bit.  I don't worry too much about it in this dish, because the amounts are spread across at least 10 servings.  

Some water chestnuts are a  great inexpensive way to add mega crunch and texture, just a thought!

Recipe:

1 1/2 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips, then cut into 1 inch, bite sized pieces

1 lb. spaghetti noodles, cooked according to instructions, in salted water, just short of al dente, about 7 minutes.

1 lb. frozen broccoli, thawed

1 c. frozen peas and carrots, frozen

1/2 can baby corn, drained and cut into bite sized pieces

1/4 c. reduced sodium soy, plus 3/4 c. water or stock to make 1 cup.

1/3 c. liquid aminos 

1/4. c. pure cane sugar

3-5 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced

1 to 2 tsp. Sriracha or to taste

2 tbs. cornstarch, plus 2 tbsp. water to make a slurry

1 tsp. black sesame seeds

1/2 tsp. ground ginger 

SPST

Olive oil for drizzling

Sesame Oil for garnish, optional

Instructions:

In a medium hot skillet drizzled with olive oil, brown chicken in batches.

SPST. (Salt and Pepper to Suit Taste)

While pasta cooks, add the thawed broccoli. After 7 minutes, drain and shock in cold water.

Add pasta and broccoli back to spaghetti pot and drizzle with scant amount of sesame oil and keep warm on the lowest setting.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine soy, water, aminos, sugar, ginger, garlic, Sriracha and corn starch, set aside.

 After the chicken is all browned, add back to skillet , add sauce ingredients from bowl and bring up to a boil

to thicken, then turn off heat.

Add peas and carrots and baby corn, stir.

Pour chicken mixture over pasta and broccoli.

Over medium low heat, fold until evenly coated and veggies/colors are distributed as evenly as possible. 

Check seasonings and adjust as desired. 

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle lightly with sesame oil.

Sliced Green onion will make an excellent garnish also.