Thai Peanut Chicken Noodles
ALERT: New go-to family favorite! Thai Peanut Chicken Noodles from Damn Delicious, damn they are delicious.
This loosely “Thai” pasta dish is centered around a straight-forward sauce with no surprises–peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, sriracha…we’ve been here before. But I maintain that cardboard would taste delicious if drizzled with peanut sauce, so we’re off to a good start. In addition to the delectable sauce, there’s the inclusion of shredded cabbage and carrots in the resulting pasta tangle. If you are in a rush or have picky eaters, these barely noticeable vegetables make this dish a one-pot meal. And finally, the chicken. Optional if you’d like to make a vegetarian version of this pasta but a great inclusion, again, with the “one and done” strategy in mind.
Here I will share a chicken “cheat” of mine. This recipe has you sautéing the chicken in a pan before adding the vegetables but if you happen to have picked up the vacuum sealed package of unseasoned rotisserie chicken breast from the meat department of Costco, you are one step ahead in the game. I always grab a double and pop one in my freezer for just this sort of meal.
Finally, I wasn’t able to find “refrigerated yakisoba noodles” at my local supermarket and to be honest, I’m not exactly sure what they are. I decided that if they were anything like dry soba noodles I’d take a pass, and therefore substituted thin spaghetti. My three little critics declared that they couldn’t imagine that the Thai Peanut Chicken Noodles would be better with any other noodle. So there. Enjoy!
Thai Peanut Chicken Noodles
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 1/2 c peanut butter
- 1/2 c reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 c honey
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbls freshly grated ginger
- 2 Tbls rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1-2 tsp Sriracha, optional
- 1 16-oz box thin spaghetti
- 2 Tbls canola oil
- 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 4 c shredded cabbage (one bag pre-shredded cabbage)
- 2-4 carrots, peeled and shredded (or 1 1/2 c pre-shredded carrots)
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/4 c fresh cilantro leaves, for optional garnish
- 2 Tbls chopped peanuts, for optional garnish
- In a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, honey, ginger, vinegar, sesame oil and Sriracha, if using; set aside.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions; drain well, reserving 1/2 c of the pasta cooking water.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken to skillet and cook until golden, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in cabbage, carrots and green onions until heated through and slightly wilted, about 5 minutes.
- When everything is done cooking, stir the noodles into the peanut butter mixture; add the chicken and vegetables and toss until well combined. You may need to add some pasta cooking water, a little at a time, to loosen the mixture slightly.
- Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro and peanuts, if desired.
- I substituted thin spaghetti for refrigerated Yaki-Soba noodles, and doubled the original sauce recipe to accommodate a full box of pasta.