I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Millennial Central for Kirin. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

I have an insanely delicious recipe to share with you all today.  I’ve been really trying to start trying out more recipes in the kitchen. As you all know I am not much of a cook, but practice makes perfect attempt is a step in the right direction!

Tonight after Wes and I got home from running errands I knew it was the perfect time to fix up this delicious recipe that I had recently received by Chef Candice Kumal.

Kirin Ichiban has teamed up with Candice to create some asian inspired dishes to go along with their line of beers.  Beer and pasta – you can’t wrong with that can you!?

Kirin will be sharing special recipes throughout the year on their Facebook page that are great for pairing along with their beers.

Kirin sent along a few recipes to try out by Chef Candice Kumal, and while I really wanted to try to make my own sushi I knew the husband wouldn’t be too excited about it so I opted for something I knew we would both enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons Lan Chai black bean chili paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce with 1 tablespoon sugar whisked in
2 cups baby kale or finely chopped kale
2 carrots, thinly sliced
8 oz. Yakisoba noodles, cooked and drained

Directions:
1. In a large skillet over medium heat, combined toasted sesame oil and chili paste.
2. Add garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds.  Add onion and cook for about 8 more minutes.
3. Add chicken and 1/4 cup of seasoned soy sauce and stir fry until chicken is no longer pink.  Remove chicken from pan, set aside and keep warm.
4. In the same pan, saute kale and carrots until the kale wilts.
5. Stir in remaining soy sauce, then add cooked noodles and chicken to pan and toss well to combine.

**I could not find Yakisoba noodles where I am so I used simple rice noodles instead. Still delicious.

This recipe turned out great and really does goes very well with Kirin’s beers.  I don’t normally drink beer with my dinner, but I figured this weekend was a great time to enjoy it!  We also have plenty of leftovers to last us through the week. This works out nicely since Wes is at the hospital almost every night.

I did get to try out a new oil I’ve never used before, sesame oil!

Has anyone ever tried this? I loved the nutty flavor it added to the dish and will definitely try to incorporate this into more recipes in the future!

Have you ever tried sesame oil?

What’s your favorite asian inspired meal to cook?