Italians aren’t the only culture to use pasta. Most people think Cindy Lutini’s Pasta for Life is only about Italian cuisine.  Not true.  In fact, my favorite food is Oriental, all regions, but specifically, Thai and Sichuan.

There are many regions in China, all of whom have a distinctive way of preparing food.  There is Japanese, Thaiwanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indonesian, Indian, and then of course, Chinese, which has several regions of its own and includes Beijing, Canton, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan, Hunan and Peking to name a few.  Then there is Singapore food which is thought to have origins in Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and India.

Oriental cuisine from Thai to Korean to Chinese all use pasta in some fashion either to substantiate a main course with little protein or as a staple in rich soups and stews.  There are Chinese egg noodles which are parboiled before being sauced, rice noodles generally soaked to make them pliable before adding to dishes, mung bean noodles which can be crisp-fried and of course, won ton or spring roll wrappers.

Recently we had an eight course oriental meal at Cindy Lutini’s.  We mostly served Thai dishes such as Thai Barbecued Pork on Thai Coleslaw, Grilled Beef and Chili Salad, Crispy Green Beans seasoned with galangal (Thai ginger), cilantro, lime juice, fish sauce, and lemongrass and Pad Thai, that superb and most recognized noodle dish in Thailand.

Thai food is an original and rich amalgam of evocative aromas, subtle blends of herbs and spices and contrasting textures and tastes.  It contains flavors and techniques that are familiar from Chinese, Indian and Japanese cooking, but they have been so refined that the resulting dishes have a new and exciting character.  The dishes are light and fresh and vegetables are featured prominently — cooked quickly to retain their crispness, flavor and nutrients.  Dairy products are not used and fish and poultry feature more prominently than meat; and where this is used it often only constitutes a small portion of the dish.  The main reason I like Thai dishes is because of the sauces; they are not thickened by adding corn or tapioca starches and the resulting flavors are salty, sweet, savory and tart.

One of our favorite noodle dishes is Mee Krob, a Thai noodle dish made from golden crispy rice noodles topped with a sauce that is a blend of sweetness, sourness and saltiness all at once.  The sauce contains garlic, shallots, finely chopped pork and shrimp, fermented soybeans, fish sauce, palm sugar, chilis and kaffir lime rind.  The fried noodles are tossed in the sauce and served over fresh bean sprouts and green scallion tops.  The finishing touch is matchstick-size pieces of fried tofu.  I have a chef friend in New York (French Restaurant) who hires based on the success of a plate of Mee Krob!  Part of the interview process is a surprise request for this Thai dish.  Although it sounds easy to make, it requires perfect timing when mixing the sauce with the fried noodles or you end up with an unsightly looking, gooey tasting mess!

One of the non Thai dishes we served for the surprise birthday celebration was Peking Duck.  We reserve five days for this splendid production — three to do justice to the duck, four to enter a state of nirvana after consumption and five to cook pasta in a delicious broth.

Day one/two/three.  Dressing the Duck.  Wash and dry your duck.  Rub the skin inside and out with a mixture of 1 tsp. salt and 2 tbsps. Chinese wine.  (We actually used Sant’Elena Traminer from the Friuli region in Italy since that is the wine we would be consuming with the duck.) Place your duck on a tray standing upright.  You can accomplish this by using a vertical chicken roaster or empty beer can.  Store uncovered in the refrigerator to dry for two days.  Reserve the neck for soup.  The third day, glaze the duck with a mixture of 3 tablespoons of honey (we used Stan’s Pure Honey from Broxton, Ga.) and equal parts of water.  Rub inside and out and return the duck to the refrigerator for another day of drying out.

Day four.  Roasting the Duck.   Heat oven to 350 degrees and roast the duck for 1 1/2 hours.  The trick to serving a proper Peking Duck pancake is to ensure that when carving the duck each piece of meat has some crispy skin and fat attached.  Spoon some Hoisin sauce onto your pancake, top with a piece of duck, a few slivers of scallions and cilantro leaves.  Fold into a square and yum, yum!

Day five.  The rest is Duck Soup.  The leftover carcass and reserved neck simmer in water infused with some fresh ginger and scallions.  Strain and cook some short cut pasta such as shells or ditilini and garnish with cilantro and scallions.  We even stir in a scant amount of Hoisin sauce.

Another favorite from the Sichuan region in China is our Spicy Chicken in Tangerine Peel served over a bed of Sesame Glazed Egg Noodles.  Get the idea?  We’re not just about Duck Lasagne in Chianti Wine Sauce or Butternut Squash Ravioli.  We can pretty much take you on a journey to any country in the world with enough planning.  Just don’t ask me to make Mee Krob — I would never be hired!

— Cindy Shultz is the owner and chef at Cindy Lutini’s Pasta for Life. She holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.A. from John Carroll University.