Biber Salçasi, literally means pepper paste. This Turkish condiment is made from the sun dried paste of red chili peppers or sweet long peppers and salt. Some years ago I bought a jar at Super King Market because it sounded interesting and have not been without it since. The hot variety suits my taste but the sweet not so much.
It is often used in place of tomato paste but the flavor is much richer I think. Added to almost anything for that bit of extra zing.
At the market, I purchased a 5+ lb package of boneless thighs that will be prepared 4 ways. Poached, Filipino Adobo, Olive Oil lemon juice & Oregano marinade, and with Biber Salçasi, Fideo, & mushrooms.
This current dish is something I made up one day for dinner. I have boneless chicken thighs that need to be cooked and this will be lunch.
For my late lunch, I cut 2 thighs into pieces, perhaps ¾ inch. The excess fat is rendered to cook with. The chicken is marinated in pepper paste, crushed garlic, and just a bit of soy sauce. This jar of paste, Tazah brand, is very salty so no extra NaCl is needed. This is left to marinate in the fridge for a few hours.
The rendered fat browns the fideo. Set aside, sautée mushrooms, about 4 oz in olive oil. Then the chicken is given a quick sear before returning the mushrooms and fideo to the pan. Chicken stock from this morning’s poach is added to finish cooking the pasta. The sauce should be fairly dry when done. One advantage to having the stock on the stove, is that I can add a bit at a time. When the thin pasta is cooked al dente, lunch is served.
I do wish I had made some caramelized onion to add another layer of flavor but there is always a next time for this. Also, more pepper paste could have gone in near the end for a richer flavor. I got filled up and the taste was good.
Not exactly pretty, but perhaps not as Ugly as other things I have cooked.
Sautéed Chicken with Biber Salçasi, Fideo, & Mushrooms
Ingredients:
- 1 lb boneless Chicken Thighs
- 4 oz Mushrooms sliced thick
- 5 oz cut Fideo noodles or you can break down what you have
- 1 heaping tbsp Biber Salçasi (Turkish Pepper Paste)
- 1 tsp crushed Garlic
- 1 tsp Soy Sauce
- 1 & 1/4 cup Chicken Stock
- Schmatz, Olive Oil, and Butter
Method:
- Cut thighs in bite size pieces and into bowl
- Add Biber Salçasi, garlic and soy sauce
- Mix well, cover and marinate in fridge for at least an hour
- Brown Fideo in Schmaltz or Olive Oil then remove from pan. Do not stop to photograph the pasta or might get overcooked a bit
- More olive oil and lightly brown mushrooms, remove to bowl
- Lightly brown marinated chicken, just a bit of color is needed. No need to cook through
- Add chicken stock to pan and return fideo
- Lower heat, cover pan and cook for 7-9 minutes to finish cooking pasta
- Add mushrooms to pan, mix and cook uncovered until most of liquid is evaporated
- Serves 2
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