Sunday, November 4, 2007

Oyster Sauce Pasta???


What to do when you have a cupboard full of pasta that was on sale last week but no tomato sauce? I thought about pasta carbonara, but I gots no bacon. So I just pulled some chicken thighs out of the freezer, poached them in salted water. The poaching liquid created a nice broth. The pasta shells gets added. This is my new favorite way to cook pasta. It absorbs all the chicken flavory goodness. Add some chopped up cauliflower (that was the last of my supply) and stirred in 2 tbsp. oyster sauce (which, btw, tastes nothing like oysters). The starch from the cooking liquid made the sauce nice and thick.
Yep, this is one of my ghetto meets gourmet shining moments. When it's the end of my grocery cycle and I have odds and ends to work with. The chicken was flavorful and moist. I really liked the combination of oyster sauce with cauliflower. The flavor is savory with just a hint of sweetness. This is great comfort food.
There are a couple things that I would do differently the next time I make this. I'd try to add the cauliflower in a bit earlier so that the pasta doesn't get too soft. I would also add some color to it. What is it with me and beige food lately? Maybe a sprinkle of green onions at the end, or some colorful veggies like carrots.

Oyster Sauce Pasta
1 cup uncooked pasta shells
2 chicken thighs
1 cup cauliflower, chopped
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 quart water
4 tbsp salt

Combine salt and water in large pot.  Bring to a boil.  Add chicken thighs.  Bring water back to a rolling boil  Lower heat to simmer. Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes or until chicken thighs are
cooked through.  Remove chicken thighs and set aside.
Bring liquid back to a boil.  Add pasta shells and cook for time indicated on package.
Once chicken thighs are cool enough to handle, chop into cubes.  Set aside.
About 3 minutes before pasta is done cooking, add cauliflower.
Drain cooked pasta and cauliflower.
Combine pasta, cauliflower, chicken and oyster sauce together.  Mix well and serve.

1 comment:

  1. That's a nice thought from you. This is a new one for me! Looks really yummy too..gearing up with recipes for the cold winter days hopefully ahead!

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