Jan 16, 2014

Passport to Asia w/ I Heart Cooking Clubs {Chilli Cashew Chicken Noodles}

So it's that time of year.
The time when try as I might, I often miss that coveted natural light for photographs.


And by often, I mean always.
Or at least almost so.

These pictures don't come close to showcasing what a good dish Donna Hay's Chilli Cashew Chicken Noodles was.  Lots of flavors.  Layers of flavors since you cook the chilli and onion in sugar, then cook the salty/savory components, then add them together.  Red bell pepper, soy sauce, lemon juice, and cilantro (I used parsley) are also involved.


Oh yeah.  And fish sauce.  The rankest smelling stuff ever.  It gags me when I open the bottle.  But it makes things taste so good, I hold my breath and use it anyway.

We all liked this dish and I hoarded the leftovers for lunch.  (So there!)
I don't often cook Asian inspired dishes.
And by often, I mean almost never.

I'm glad this week's I Heart Cooking Clubs theme gave me that push to cook something Asian.  It was my first time cooking/eating rice noodles.

We'll make this again.  Next week, in fact.

For the recipe, see Donna Hay's website.

A couple of my IHCC partners in crime have made this dish in the past for another project, Donna Hay Wednesday.
See it @ Bizzy Bakes
See it @ Tea & Scones


IHCC Donna Hay Badge resized

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7 comments:

  1. Even though it's not for me I have to admit that it looks Fantastic!!
    My family loves chickens with cashews and it would be a hit

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  2. Hi Michelle,
    I almost made this noodle dish! Haha! I should have! It looks delicious!

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  3. Your dish sounds fantastic! I agree with you about fish sauce....I was loathe to use it after smelling it for the first time but I'm glad I did because the flavour it added was wonderful.

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  4. You think fish sauce smells bad ... you want to try blachan (shrimp paste)!! Makes fish sauce smell like roses. It's amazing isn't it that things which smell so bad can taste so good, and don't leave your final dish smelling bad at all. So pleased you went out of your comfort zone a little and made this dish - it sounds wonderful.

    I totally get the lack of natural light for photos in the middle of winter - it really sucks doesn't it. We have very long twilights here in New Zealand in the middle of summer - we're well past the longest day, but it's still light at 9pm. I'm loving being able to cook dinner and still photograph it in natural light at 7.30 to 8.00pm.

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  5. A good noodle dish makes me happy. This one looks fabulous--so colorful and I love the layers of flavor. Yum!
    ;-)

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  6. Okay, here's the funny thing I almost chose this dish this week but decided on the dish I made only because I had all the ingredients on hand. So since you gave this such great reviews I know I have to go ahead and make it (along with the blueberry loaf). Funny how we keep eyeballing the same dishes :)

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  7. Your pictures look good, despite the fading light. It's definitely something I would love to try. Maybe dinner when I am by myself.

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