Ginger-Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Soy-Sesame Noodles

I was shocked--shocked, I tell you--at how yummy this turned out. I got this from rachaelrayshow.com since I didn't want to make a traditional-ish St. Paddy's Day corn-beef-and-cabbage deal since it's really not my kind of meal. Anyway, this is something I will make again for sure.

Ginger-Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Soy-Sesame Noodles


Salt
1 pound spaghetti
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (eyeball it)
3/4 pound chicken cutlets, cut into very thin strips
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I shredded it)
2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
A couple generous handfuls of shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped into 2-inch pieces
1 small head or 1/2 large head Napa cabbage, shredded
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper (1/3 palmful)
1/3 cup Tamari (dark soy sauce)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Preparation
1. Bring water to a boil and salt it. Cook the spaghetti to al dente. (I used whole-wheat spaghetti which added a sort-of earthy flavor that really complimtented the sauce in this dish)

2. While the pasta cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet with vegetable oil over high heat until the oil ripples. Add the chicken and stir fry until golden, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, scallions and cabbage and stir fry for 2-3 minutes more. Season the stir fry with salt and lots of black pepper and turn off heat. (It took my chicken pieces a good 5 minutes to cook; I suppose you could cut back on the garlic since 6 cloves seems like a lot, but I am a raging garlicphile and...ahem...used nearly the entire amount though I cut the rest of the recipe in half; I used two kinds of mushrooms--shiitake and your run of the mill white buttons because I had some in my crisper about to go bad)

3. Place the Tamari (eyeball it) and sesame oil in a bowl and add the hot pasta to the dish. Toss to coat, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place pasta in shallow bowl and top with stir fry. (I forgot to grab Tamari at the store, so I used regular low-sodium soy sauce; the sesame seeds really add to the flavor, I liked that part a lot)

I guess the only thing about this recipe I'd change (besides the type of noodle used) is the ginger. I think a little bit goes a looong way, so I probably should have started out on the sparse side instead of diving right in with the whole amount. It was too overpowering for my taste--not enough to ruin the dish, but enough to make me notice the flavor a little too much with every bite. Overall, this was a hit for me. My rating would be a 5 because the presentation is BEAUTIFUL as well as tasty. I think I'd wow some people at a dinner party with this one.

Oh, and I ate it before thinking of taking a pic. Oops.

P.S. Will someone tell me how to do the "cut" thing so I can post a link to the sites from now on? I am not so computer savy!