Grilled Asian Chicken Pasta Salad

Labor Day. The cookout was everything I wanted it to be. I had the smoker going from Friday night — the brisket went on at midnight, the beef ribs at 6 AM Saturday, and the homemade sausages on Saturday afternoon. By Sunday, the backyard smelled like a professional BBQ joint and Mr. Washington told me he could smell the smoke from two blocks away, which I took as a compliment and a geographic verification.

The sausage was the hit. The Vietnamese-Nigerian-Texas fusion links — pork with fish sauce, lemongrass, palm sugar, and James's suya spice — were something I'd never tasted before and I made them. They had the snap of a good Texas sausage, the aromatic sweetness of Vietnamese seasoning, and the warm, nutty heat of suya. People kept coming back for more. James stood next to me at the smoker grinning and said, "We should sell these." I said, "We should eat these." But I filed his comment away. Ideas that come from food you can't stop eating are the ideas worth filing.

The guest list expanded beyond the usual neighborhood crowd. Emma and Daniel came. Lily and James, obviously. Two guys from my AA group — Bill and a newer member named Marcus. Three of Mai's friends from the Vietnamese Buddhist temple. Mr. Washington's entire extended family. By 3 PM I had thirty people in my backyard, which is about ten more than the yard technically supports, but we made it work because Texans have a constitutional inability to turn anyone away from a cookout.

Mai sat in her usual spot — the lawn chair under the crape myrtle — and held court. She had a plate of sausage and a cup of tea and she was telling Mr. Washington's grandkids about Vietnam. Not the war, not the escape. The food. She was telling them about the markets in Saigon, about the women who sold banh mi from carts, about the coffee that was so strong it could wake the dead. The kids were mesmerized. Mai has that effect. She speaks quietly and people lean in. I have never mastered this technique. My technique is the opposite: I speak loudly and people lean back.

Cleaned up Monday. Found a sausage casing on the porch railing and a La Croix can wedged in the smoker's ash box, which is not where La Croix goes. The yard was a wreck but the kind of wreck that means something good happened. I hosed down the patio and put away the chairs and stood there in the September heat and felt that specific post-cookout satisfaction: everyone ate, everyone left happy, and there's enough leftover brisket in the fridge to last the week.

After thirty people showed up in a backyard built for twenty and every last link of those fusion sausages disappeared before I could grab a second one, I knew the theme of the day was clear: Asian flavors on a live fire are something the crowd cannot resist. This Grilled Asian Chicken Pasta Salad is the dish I’m keeping in my back pocket for the next time that backyard fills up beyond capacity — it’s big-batch friendly, it travels well to a lawn chair under a crape myrtle, and the sesame-ginger dressing has the same kind of aromatic brightness that made those sausages disappear so fast. James is going to ask why I didn’t make this Labor Day. I don’t have a good answer.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1 tablespoon sesame oil, divided
12 oz rotini or penne pasta
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup shelled edamame, thawed if frozen
1 cup shredded carrots
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
For the dressing:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey or agave
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce or sriracha (optional)
2 tablespoons neutral oil (avocado or canola)

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Add the chicken breasts, turn to coat, and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water to stop cooking, and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, grated ginger, garlic, chili garlic sauce if using, and neutral oil until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
Grill the chicken. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill chicken breasts 6–7 minutes per side, or until cooked through and internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes, then slice or chop into bite-sized pieces.
Assemble the salad. Add grilled chicken, red bell pepper, edamame, shredded carrots, and green onions to the bowl with the pasta. Pour the dressing over everything and toss thoroughly to coat.
Finish and serve. Top with chopped cilantro and toasted sesame seeds. Serve immediately at room temperature, or refrigerate up to 2 hours before serving. Toss again just before plating.

Nutrition (per serving)

Grilled Asian Chicken Pasta Salad — The Fusion Spirit That Started at the Smoker