I am really not a big fan of pasta in any shape or form. OK, I’m lying, some shapes and forms are more palatable than others. All in all, I’d be quite happy without its presence on my table whatsoever. However, my husband happens to absolutely adore pasta. In every shape and form!! Being the nice wife that I am, and being Miss Guilt in flesh and blood, I do break down and cook some form of pasta every now and then. One has to be fair I suppose, and some sort of compromise is a normal part of any relationship; pasta is mine.

I concocted this dish in one of my more desperate guilt-ridden moments, and it actually turned out pretty good. I even willingly make it every now and again.

It’s got pasta, chicken, loads of crunchy vegetables, and makes an ideal one-dish meal. It is delicious hot or cold. I prefer it on the cold side, actually room temperature, great for a buffet spread for large gatherings.

And did I mention? my husband loves it!!! so it is a savior for me.

Ingredients:

I’m sorry guys, I did not weigh any of the ingredients, so just use your own judgement!)

5 vermicelli balls (you can use more if you wish, I just prefer to drown mine in vegetables, for obvious reasons!!)

2 cups of chicken broth

1 chicken breast fillet

a medium piece of broccoli

2 medium carrots

1 medium onion

½ red pepper

½ a yellow pepper

a 2 inch piece of fresh ginger

one lemon for squeezing

soya sauce to taste

Method:

Crush the vermicelli balls in your hand, just to more or less separate the strands. You don’t want too small or too fine. And you defintely do not want the kind that is sold crushed. It is way too fine!!

Drizzle with some olive oil and pan fry the vermicelli turning constantly. Do not get distracted as it tends to burn pretty quickly

get it to a nice golden brown as in picture #4

add the chicken broth, some soya sauce, cover the pan and turn down the heat

keep checking as you may need to add some more broth (every brand of vermicelli differs, so don’t take it for granted.)

check for doneness and remove from heat. Make sure you don’t over cook, you want the pasta to be al dente

uncover the pan and set aside

slice the chicken into thin strips, sprinkle some salt, some red pepper flakes and stir fry. Add to the vermicelli pan

slice your veggies as in picture #7, and stir fry each separately. Keep in mind that you want them on the crunchy side.

As each vegetable is done, add it to the vermicelli pan

squeeze the juice of one lemon

add some soya sauce to taste

and mix well to incorporate all ingredients

I always use the fingers of both hands to mix and toss gently, this way you’re less likely to make mush out of it

that’s it, you’re done…

 

Enjoy!