Asian Pasta
Both of my daughters have loved Asian food since they were tiny, tiny, tiny. We have gone to Susi where they had to kneel on their seats to eat their Bento Boxes. They used chop sticks before forks. Maybe it’s the cute box or the novelty of the chop sticks or even the food, but they are constantly begging for Japanese or Chinese. I grew up on a farm where my mother served a steady diet of meat and potatoes with vegetables. She made us steaks that covered our entire plate, but mostly I just ate PB&J. I didn’t even like pizza, so this is all new to me (kids venturing out of the PB&J box and into spicy tuna rolls).
Later in life I developed a deep love for pasta, but not for Asian food. So Asian Pasta is a compromise that we all love. And believe me, I will do anything to get them to eat their veggies. And in this dish they do it gladly.
I used ochecchi pasta because they love it so much. It has a really yummy chewy texture and for a first Asian Pasta Recipe I knew it would at least be liked if not loved, but of course, they loved it. It had all of their favorite ingredients, broccoli (the kid favorite in the vegetable family), sausage, brown sugar and light soy sauce. I use the teriyaki with pineapple hand made sausages from Whole Foods.
This is a very filling recipe and good for hungry kids. It can be served as an after school snack because it reheats amazingly well.
Ingredients:
1 package of Orecchiette Pasta (Barilla)
2 teaspoons sesame oil (if you like spicy you can buy sesame oil with chili)
2 cloves of diced garlic
2 + cups washed & chopped fresh broccoli
2 Teriyaki and Pineapple house made sausages from Whole Foods
6 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
Sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions:
Bring water to a boil and follow package directions to cook pasta. Then drain pasta well and set aside.
Heat pan or wok on medium high until hot. Add sesame oil and and garlic and gently brown (do not allow to burn). Remove sausages from casings and brown with garlic and sesame oil. Add broccoli and cook until just tender, but not soft.
Stir in soy sauce and brown sugar. Gently toss all ingredients until evenly coated.
Sydney 