Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad

Today, I just had my last day of class in my university life. I did not really think about it until everyone clapped at the end of the class. Then I realized... RIGHT! Next week final starts, and I will be leaving Montreal in about 2 weeks time! Still can’t believe it. What did I actually do in this semester? Haha... With the chill-est class schedule, no morning classes, no weekly assignments, only one midterm, no pressure! Anyhow, deadline of design is coming and so I have been eating out and munching junks for the past few days due to the late stay at school for project. Today I had a break, put myself together, went to the grocery store, made a tub of pasta salad (food reserved for next few days). Get Ready For a Busy Study Weekend!

Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad

Recipes fromAllrecipes (Yield: 6)

Ingredients

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup light soy sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast meat

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup chopped green onion

Directions

1) Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds, and cook stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside.

2) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente.

3) While boiling the pasta, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well.

4) Drain the pasta. Pour half of the dressing to the pasta while the pasta is still warm, so the dressing can be better absorbed.

5) Pour the other half of sesame dressing over pasta when pasta is cool, and toss to coat evenly. Gently mix in chicken, cilantro, and green onions.

Modifications:

1) I don’t like cilantro, so I did not put any. It still tastes good.

2) I don’t have any green onions in hand, so I omitted them. I added finely chopped raw red onions to the pasta salad.

3) The amount of oil is cut from ½ cup to 1/3 cup. The original recipe is too oily.

4) I added some more soy sauce, black pepper to taste.

5) Optional: I also added some cayenne pepper or chili flakes to add some spicy flavor for personal taste.