Sesame Brie Mac & Cheese with “Tatsuta Age” Fried Chicken.
Some of the best recipes comes from your internal food cravings like this one. I wasn’t sure what I was craving but I knew I wanted something with brie, noodles and fried chicken… If mac and cheese was an Vietnamese dish I would probably use Brie cheese, sesame oil and a dash of fish sauce!
The result: A white creamy brie Mac & Cheese topped with some Tatsuta Age style Fried chicken topped off with some pork panko crumbs, because why not?
To make the below even more cheesy, you can add a cup or two of shredded sharp or white cheddar!
INGREDIENTS
2 tbs butter (unsalted)
2/3 cup half and half or heavy cream
1/3 cup water
1/2-1 cup brie (to taste, cut of rinds, add a half cup of sharp cheddar or more to taste for an extra bite)
Sesame oil (about 1 tsp)
Siracha (for garnishing)
Black pepper (fresh ground, to taste & garnishing)
Pork Panko crumbs (for garnishing)
Fish sauce (optional, couple dashes, put in right before serving)
BAKING (optional, for a baked mac & cheese)
1/4 - 1/2 cup bread crumbs
Pork panko crumbs
Shredded charp cheddar to coat
PREPARATION
Boil pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Melt butter over medium heat in a medium pot or saucepan. Sprinkle in your flour and whisk for about a minute or two until it clumps together (careful not to burn this or start over). Add in a little sprinkle of salt and black pepper and slowly pour in your heavy cream until thickened. Keep on whipping and pour in the rest of your half and half (or heavy cream) and water until you get the right thickened consistency. If it looks way too thick, just add a tbs or two of water and mix well.
Cut your rindless brie cheese and sharp cheddar into medium chunks and drop it into your pot. Mix well until all the cheese melts, turn up heat to melt cheese more.
Throw in your drained pasta noodles and toss to combine. Taste, add more cheese or salt if needed, add fish sauce to taste (optional).
Plate and top off with some black pepper, fried chicken and pork panko.
Baked mac and Cheese: You can also opt to fry up some bread crumbs in a little butter (2-3 tbs) until golden then put your mac and cheese into a greased heat proof pyrex, sprinkle some shredded sharp cheddar on top (create a thin cheesy layer)and sprinkle some of breadcrumbs & pork panko and and bake for about 10-15 min at 325 degrees.