At a time when cookbook authors were covering great stretches of territory (China the Beautiful, say) or claiming entire landfalls of subject matter (Seafood the Beautiful, say), James McNair came along in the mid-1980s with slim volumes dedicated to single subjects and designed with an exacting eye.
I concocted this dish for friends Kristi and Bob Spence at Lake Tahoe and published it in my first single-subject cookbook, Cold Pasta. Since then, it has probably become my best-known recipe, a favorite of caterers and other good cooks from coast to coast.
The flavor of the dish improves from several hours chilling, but wait until the last minutes to add the crunchy snow peas. Please be very generous with the chile sauce or oil, cold noodles can take a lot of heat.
Makes 8 servings.
Creamy Sesame Dressing
2 cups homemade mayonnaise or high-quality commercial mayonnaise
1/4 cup Asian sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese hot or Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Asian chile sauce or chile oil, or to taste
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound fresh or dried thin Chinese wheat noodles (mein) or thin pasta such as spaghettini
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons peanut oil
4 boned and skinned chicken breast halves
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 cup finely chopped red sweet pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion, including green tops
1 cup finely chopped canned sliced bamboo shoots
1 cup sliced canned miniature corn on the cob
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
8 ounces snow peas, cut into thin slivers
2 tablespoons sesame seed
Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish
To make the Creamy Sesame Dressing, in a bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk to blend well. Cover and refrigerate until needed, whisk again just before using if necessary.
In a large pot, bring 4 quarts water to a rapid boil over high heat, then stir in the salt. Drop in the noodles or pasta and cook, stirring frequently, until tender but still very firm to the bite. Drain and rinse in cold water, then drain again. Place in a large bowl and toss with the soy sauce and peanut oil. Set aside to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to keep the noodles from sticking together.
Meanwhile, quickly rinse the chicken breasts under cold running water and transfer to a large saucepan. Add just enough cold water to cover the chicken. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat so that the water barely ripples. Simmer until the meat is opaque throughout, just beyond the pink stage, about 12 minutes. Using a slotted utensil, remove the chicken to a plate. Let cool to room temperature.
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and ad to the cooled noodles. Add the carrot, sweet pepper, green onion, bamboo shoots, corn, and chopped cilantro and mix gently yet thoroughly. Add the reserved dressing and blend well. Cover and refrigerate for several hours for the flavors to blend or for up to overnight.
About 30 minutes before serving, remove the noodle mixture from the refrigerator.
Blanch the snow peas* and toast the sesame seed** and set aside.
To serve, toss the noodles with the snow peas, adding a little extra soy sauce and peanut oil or mayonnaise if the noodles seem dry. Mound on a platter or transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seed.
* To blanch young green beans, edible pod peas, or shelled green (English) peas for use in recipes, trim the ends and remove any stings from the beans or pea pods. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat and ready a bowl of iced water. When the water boils, stir in about 1 tablespoon salt, drop in the beans or peas, can cook until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Quickly drain and transfer to the iced water to halt cooking. Drain well and use as directed.
** Pan-Toasted Seeds or Nuts (sesame seeds, shelled pumpkin or sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews, pine nuts, or peanuts) Toasted seeds or nuts add nutritious crunch and flavor when sprinkled over or tossed into salads, pastas, and other foods. In a small skillet, place the seeds or nuts over medium heat and toast, shaking the pan or stirring frequently, until lightly golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Pour into a plate to cool. Use as directed in recipe.
