The hubs and I love to order-in Thai. We cuddle up in front of a movie or our Hulu queue and stuff ourselves silly with Larb, Yellow Curry, Spicy Thai Basil and Pad Thai. In fact, that’s pretty much how we spent our entire first year of marriage.
With all the money we’ve spent on take-out, and considering how much I love to cook, one would think I’d try to make some of our favorite dishes, myself. Well I did. And it doesn’t work. Typically Asian recipes have dozens of ingredients, several of which you can’t pronounce and/or have to google. For years, I resigned myself to the conclusion that ordering Thai/Chinese/Japanese take-out is actually more practical than making it at home.
Then I came across this spicy peanut recipe. Sure, there are lots of ingredients, but most of them are already in my cabinets. I decided to give it a whirl. The original recipe called for veggies that I don’t like, so I instead I thew in some that I do: julienned carrots and baby bok choy. The original recipe also didn’t have any meat (oh, the shame!), so I gladly added some diced chicken.
So, did these noodles taste authentic? No. Did they measure up to all-time thai favs? Not quite. But they were delicious. In their own peanutty, fresh, flavorful way. And I could really get used to curing my ache for Asian from the comfort of my own kitchen.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole wheat rice noodles
- Olive oil
- 8 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
- 2 baby bok choy, ends cut off
- 1 cup julienned carrots
- 1/2 cup smooth, natural peanut butter
- 3 teaspoons honey
- 3/4 cup chicken broth, divided
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3 teaspoons siracha sauce
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 large garlic clove, minced or grated
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- Chopped cilantro
- Roasted, salted peanuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Rinse and soak noodles in water before cooking. This will prevent the water from getting cloudy and noodles tasting goopy (for lack of better word).
- Heat chicken broth in a small pot until almost boiling. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, honey and 1/2 cup of the warm broth and stir until smooth. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, siracha, sesame oil, ginger and garlic, and stir together. Set aside.
- Boil noodles according to package instructions, until soft but still firm, tehn drain.
- Heat a Tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned on the outside and no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes.
- Add another Tablespoon of Olive oil to the skillet and add vegetables. Stir fry veggies until they are softened and tender, about 2 minutes.
- When the noodles are done, add them to the pan with the bok choy, carrots and chicken and combine. Pour the sauce over the top, along with the sesame seeds and half of the peanuts. Stir everything together, adding more warmed chicken broth if needed, until the sauce clings, but not gummy.
- Garnish with cilantro and peanuts
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