A week ago, after a long day of working on Saturday, which by the way a non-working day for me, my friend and co-worker treat us to Yellow Cab. It was her last week in our company and she was forcefully decided to treat us after helping her out and waiting her to finish her turn-over work.
We ordered Yellow Cab’s New York’s Finest and Charlie Chan Pasta. It was my first encounter with Charlie Chan Pasta and I find the taste interesting. It is not an ordinary pasta of tomato based sauce or white sauce. It is Asian in flavor, sweet, spicy and savory with a hint of soy sauce-like flavor. I told to myself that I would try it one of this days.
That day is today. I thought I bought all the ingredients but to my dismay, after I cooked the dish I remembered that there’s shiitake mushroom in the recipe. So this dish does not have shiitake mushroom and I highly recommend adding so. I also added a sliced carrots as I want some added crunch and color in the dish. I used green bell pepper as I find it sweet compared with the strong flavor of the red bell pepper, but the original dish is a combination of green and red bell pepper. You can add some chili flakes if you want it spicy but I opted to not to since I’m the only one in the family who likes spicy food.
Ingredients
1/2 kilo Pasta
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
6 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 head Onion, finely chopped
1/2 kilo Chicken Breast Fillet, cut into cubes
1/2 teaspoons Black Pepper
9 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
2 Tablespoons Chili Bean Paste
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
3/4 cup Water from the boiled pasta
1 medium-sized Carrot, cut into strips
100 gram Shiitake mushroom, sliced (not in the recipe)
2 medium-sized Green Bell Pepper, cut into cubes
1 cup Roasted Peanut
Onion Spring to garnish
Chili Flakes, optional
Procedure
Cook pasta according to package direction. Set aside 3/4 cup of the water from the boiled pasta.
Saute garlic and onion in olive oil. Add cubed chicken fillet and continue sauteing until slightly brown. Season with black pepper. Combine oyster sauce, chili bean paste, sugar, peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce and water and add to the chicken. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add carrot strips and shiitake mushroom and simmer for another 3 minutes. Add bell pepper and simmer for another 3 minutes. Tossed in the cooked pasta and garnish with roasted peanuts and onion spring. Sprinkle with some chili flakes for added kick.
Enjoy your Charlie Chan meal.
