The word pasta is doing some work here that the recipe does not. What actually happens is a stir-fry: chicken browned and removed, pepper cooked fast, a soy-and-honey sauce thickened with a slurry, and noodles tossed through it.
A quarter cup of honey against a third of a cup of soy is the balance the finished dish is built on — sweet enough to glaze, salty enough not to read as dessert.
Why This Recipe Works
- Browning diced chicken over medium-high heat and removing it keeps it from steaming while the pepper cooks.
- Three minutes is enough for pepper chunks to soften while staying in visible pieces.
- Rice vinegar cuts the honey so the glaze is balanced rather than cloying.
- A teaspoon of cornstarch in a tablespoon of water is what turns a thin sauce glossy and clinging.
Ingredient Notes
- Spaghetti or lo mein-style noodles
- Twelve ounces, either. Long noodles are what the finished bowl shows.
- Honey and soy sauce
- A quarter cup and a third of a cup. Together they are the glaze; neither works alone.
- Cornstarch slurry
- A teaspoon mixed with a tablespoon of water. Small, and the reason the sauce clings.
How to Make It
Cook the noodles
Cook noodles until just tender; drain.
Brown the chicken to 165F
Brown chicken in oil over medium-high heat until 165 degrees Fahrenheit; transfer.
Stir-fry the pepper
Stir-fry bell pepper for 3 minutes and garlic for 30 seconds.
Build and thicken the glaze
Add soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar and sesame oil; stir in cornstarch slurry and simmer until glossy.
Toss it together
Return chicken and noodles and toss in the dark honey-soy glaze. Finish with sesame and parsley or scallions.
Building the Glaze
The glaze is made in the pan the chicken just left, in three quick passes. It is the whole reason this dish reads dark rather than pale.
The aromatics
1 red bell pepper in chunks for 3 minutes, then 3 garlic cloves for 30 seconds
The pepper softens while staying in visible pieces, and the garlic goes in late enough not to burn in a hot stir-fry pan.
The four liquids
1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup honey, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Salt, sweetness, acid and aroma. The vinegar is what stops a quarter cup of honey reading as dessert, and the sesame oil is added as a flavour rather than a cooking fat.
The gloss
Simmer until visibly glossy.1 tsp cornstarch slaked in 1 tbsp water
Turns a thin, salty-sweet liquid into a glaze that coats every noodle. Without it the sauce runs to the bottom of the bowl.
Then tasteChicken and 12 oz of noodles returned and tossed through, then 1 tbsp of sesame seeds and chopped parsley or scallions.
Success Tips
- Cook the noodles to just tender rather than fully soft; they finish in the glaze.
- Mix the slurry before you need it — the sauce moves fast once the honey is in.
- Keep the pepper in chunks so it stays visible against the dark glaze.
Serving Ideas
Six servings in bowls, the noodles coated in dark honey-soy glaze with the chicken and red pepper chunks through them, finished with sesame seeds and parsley or scallions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this an Italian pasta dish?
No. Despite the name it is a soy-and-honey glazed noodle dish, and the recipe is written that way.
Can I skip the cornstarch?
It is what makes the glaze glossy and clinging rather than thin.
How done should the chicken be?
165 degrees Fahrenheit, browned, before it leaves the pan.
