Day One - Magic Kingdom
Freedom Pasta
Disney describes the dish as "Rigatoni Pasta with Sauteed Seasonal Vegetables tossed in a Cream Sauce with Sauteed Shrimp" on the current menu. However, a quick search shows that they used to use Fusilli. In fact, not ONE of the many pictures I found of this dish from the restaurant used Rigatoni, so this much be a rather recent development. Just a guess, but I suspect this is a carryover from where they blended the dish with the now defunct William Penn Pasta, which DID use Rigatoni.
And, since I made that dish last week (posted in another thread, I'll post here later), I don't want to do Rigatoni again. So, Fusilli it is! Also, I just made a shrimp dish a few nights ago (Jikos Swahili Grilled Shrimp, another recipe I will share here later, but is posted on another thread), and don't want shrimp again, so I'm going to go with the also common (as in, in every picture I could find) "Chicken" topping that is not listed on the current menu.
So, those deviations from the current menu notes, here's the dish I'm going to attempt to copy!
Ingredients (serves 4)
[ ] ~1lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast
[ ] 4 tsp of Saki or Seasoned Rice Vinegar
[ ] 2 large egg white
[ ] 2 Tbls Corn Starch
[ ] 1/2 tsp salt
[ ] 2 Tbls Peanut Oil (or vegetable oil), divided
[ ] 16 oz Fuseli Corti Bucati (or Cavatappi, which is similar easier to find)
[ ] 4 Crimini mushrooms (if you can't find these, Baby Bella works fine too)
[ ] 4 Button Mushrooms
[ ] 12 fresh basil leaves
[ ] 2 cloves garlic
[ ] 4 roma or plum tomatoes
[ ] 4 cups heavy cream
[ ] 1 cup vegetable stock
[ ] 2 cups Parmesan or Parmesan Reggiano Cheese
[ ] 1 tsp kosher salt
[ ] 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
For Seasoning and Plating
[ ] Kosher Salt
[ ] Black Pepper
[ ] Extra Parmesan or Parmesan Reggiano Cheese (I prefer the latter, but Parm is probably more accurate)
"Velvet" the Chicken
First, we need to "velvet" the Chicken. You've probably had this many times before, and it's rather common for stir fry and Chinese take out chicken. Basically it involves marinating and boiling the chicken to cook it. The process imbues a special texture to the chicken that is hard to replicate with simple marinating and or grilling, and based on the pictures, it appears that is what they've done to the chicken for this dish.
Step 1) Slice the Chicken Breast into thin strips, at an angle.
Step 2) Whisk the Saki, egg white, corn starch, salt and 1 Tbls of Peanut Oil together in a medium bowl and add the chicken, coating thoroughly. Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Note - If you are trying to make this dish as efficiently as possible, while marinating the chicken, proceed with the Pasta and Sauce step further below, then come back to here
Step 3) Drain the chicken.
Step 4) Add 1-2 inches of water in a large skillet or pot, along with 1 Tbls of Peanut Oil. Bring to a full boil over high heat.
Step 5) Reduce the heat to medium-low and immediately add the chicken strips, one at a time. Stir with a spoon or fork to keep the chicken from sticking together.
Step 6) Increase the heat to medium and allow the water to come back to a simmer, and then cook for anywhere from 4 - 5 minutes longer, stirring every so often.
Step 7) Remove the chicken to a colinder or use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water and place on a plate with a paper towel. Allow to drain before serving with the dish.
Pasta and Sauce
Step 1) Add 6 quarts of water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a large pinch (about 1 tsp) of kosher salt, and the pasta. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Step 2) While the water is boiling, slice the mushrooms (1 of each, Crimini and Button, per plate), deseed and chop the tomatoes (1 per plate), chop the Garlic and set aside.
Step 3) In a medium saucepan, add the cream and vegetable stock over medium heat. Season with the salt and black pepper and stir to combine.
Step 4) Simmer until bubbles start to form around the edge, then add the parmesan cheese. Stir to combine and simmer for another minute or two until the parmesan cheese is completely melted and, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced by about 1/5. While that's going on, go back to the chicken step (start with Step 4)
Final Dish
For this step you could do it all at once, but I find making it one to two servings at a time works better...
Step 1) In a wok or a large pan or wok (or you could use a pot, but I think a wok works best), add the a splash of oil and the garlic.
Step 2) Lightly brown the garlic, then add the chicken and the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper, then saute over medium heat, until they soften, stirring often until the mushrooms start to soften and the chicken starts to brown slightly.
Step 2) Add the tomatoes and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute, stirring often.
Step 4) Then add enough pasta (about 2 cups), sauce (about 1/4 cup), chicken (3 - 4 pieces) and whole basil leaves (2 - 3 on the size of the leaves) to the wok over medium to medium low heat and stir until the basil leaves start to wilt. Plate and repeat for the other three servings.
Step 5) Serve in a shallow bowl, coat liberally with a pile of parmesan cheese and DEVOUR!
So...how did it turn out? You be the judge.
Freedom Pasta (AMURICA!) DONE!