Penne with Asian-style ragu

I realized that lots of the food that I had cooked are food that mom cooked when we were kids. Take this Asian-style ragu for example. This was something that my mom made pretty often for us. She served it over rice or noodles. It’s quick to make and we were always happy with it. And now, this is my kids’ favorite. Honestly, I like to make it too because it’s pretty much a no brainer and something comforting about it too (I love anything over rice or noodles kind of person). I sometimes add in green peas in there too. I know it may sounds a bit absurd, but my kids don’t seem to mind it.

Penne with Asian-style ragu (4 servings)

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Ingredients

• ▢ 12 oz of dry penne

Ragu

• ▢ 1 Tbsp cooking oil
• ▢ 3 shallots peeled and finely chopped
• ▢ 1 clove garlic peeled and finely chopped
• ▢ 1 Tbsp of finely chopped fresh ginger
• ▢ 10 oz of ground turkey feel free to use other ground meat you like
• ▢ 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 1 Tbsp of sesame oil
• ▢ Pinch of brown sugar
• ▢ 3 cups of chicken broth store-bought or homemade
• ▢ Pinch of salt
• ▢ 2 Tbsp corn starch + 2 Tbsp water

Garnishes:

• ▢ 1 scallion finely chopped
• ▢ Fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

 

• Cook the penne to al dente. This will help the sauce to cling better to the pasta
• In a large skillet, preheat about 1 Tbsp of cooking oil. Add in shallots, garlic, and ginger. Stir fry until fragrant, about 1 minute or so. Add in the ground turkey and break it up with the spatula. Add in the soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar and continue to stir fry until the meat changes color. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a gentle boil. Have a taste and season with more salt to your taste. Give the corn starch + water mixture a stir and then pour into the skillet while the other hand continue to stir. This will thicken up the ragu
• Add in the cooked penne and stir to mix and make sure the pasta is coated with the sauce. OR you can ladle the ragu over the penne. Garnish with chopped scallion and cilantro leaves. Serve immediately

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My kids love penne because you know…they look fun. I love them over spaghetti, angel hair, or fettucini too.