THAI PEANUT CHICKEN & VEGGIE NOODLES
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pad thai rice noodles (also called medium rice noodles)
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 cups mixed stir fry vegetables, (available in refrigerator aisle – you want some combo of broccoli florets, carrots, snap peas, etc. you want the broccoli florets to be pretty small so may have to chop up)
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- Salt
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Optional: scallions or cilantro, chopped peanuts, more sriracha, red pepper flakes, lime wedges
Peanut Sauce:
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 to 2 tbsp sriracha or sambal oelek or other asian-y hot sauce (we like 2 tablespoons! not too spicy)
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain, rinse thoroughly (or they’ll stick together!), and set aside.
- Meanwhile, make peanut sauce by whisking all ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth. Trust me on the large bowl thing - you gotta whisk hard and it’ll slosh everywhere. It’ll look watery and a little lumpy - no worries, it’ll become thick and smooth when you toss it in the hot skillet.
- In a large (preferably 12”) nonstick skillet, warm oil over medium heat. Add vegetables and stir fry for two minutes. Add chicken and season chicken and veggies with salt. Cook until chicken is almost cooked through and vegetables are tender. Add garlic and continue stir frying for 30 seconds.
- Turn temperature down to low. Add noodles and sauce and use tongs to toss until sauce has thickened and everything is evenly coated, 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish as desired.
Notes
helpful hints:
Shortcut: Skip cooking the veggies and chicken. Instead, toss the noodles, sauce, store-bought shredded carrots, and about 1 1/2 cups store-bought shredded rotisserie chicken over medium heat.
Are you into spiralizing? Rather than the broccoli etc, you could cook the chicken until almost cooked through, then add carrot noodles or zucchini noodles for a few minutes before adding the noodles and sauce. OR, you could forego the rice noodles in favor of zucchini noodles.
Can’t find pad thai or rice noodles? Use spaghetti or lo mein noodles!
Recipe doubles perfectly! Make a double batch for dinner with friends or for leftovers tomorrow! To reheat, just add the peanut noodles and a splash of water to a skillet and toss over medium heat.