Chicken Peanut Noodles

We had the most awesome dinner on Sunday night. I’d wanted to make the dish several days earlier, but for one reason or another, it kept getting delayed. So by the time we got around to making it was a real treat. I expanded on a recipe I found on a blog I frequent called ‘battersplattered’. Battersplattered had posted a recipe for Spicy Peanut Noodles which was right up my taste bud alley. I love the combo of chicken and peanuts though and wanted to make it more of a one pot meal rather than just a side noodle dish. Because I added the chicken, I also tweaked the sauce to add a little more spice/heat and volume in general so the chicken could swim around in and soak up the peanuty, saucy goodness. It was to die for….OMG…SO good! And the leftovers the next day for lunch were just as good as the first night – my husband actually liked day number 2 better! Try this – we had ours with an egg roll on the side - you will love it!

Chicken Peanut Noodles

Ingredients:

6 T peanut butter

3/4 to 1 c chicken broth

4 T rice vinegar

4 to 5 T soy sauce

2 1/2 T sugar

1 T sesame oil

1 t ground ginger

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1 to 1 ½ t garlic powder

1 t red pepper flakes (optional)

1, 1 lb (16 oz) box of linguine

2 large (or 3 small) chicken breasts very thinly sliced while raw

1 T olive oil

1 envelope fried rice or Asian seasoning (I use Sunbird fried rice seasoning)

salt, pepper & garlic powder

1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 c sliced green onions, cut on the bias

1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 c chopped salted peanuts

Directions:
Combine first 10 ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to blend. Set dressing aside. The peanut butter will soften as the mixture sits after that first whisking. Give it a good whisking again before combing it with the chicken and noodles later.

Begin cooking the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until done (I prefer just past the al dente point – but not in no way mushy!)

While pasta boils, heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high and add the thinly sliced chicken. Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and the envelope of the fried rice seasoning (or approx 1 T Asian seasoning). Stir frequently until just cooked through. Add sliced orange bell pepper and combine (you want a little crunch to the pepper so if your pasta is quite a ways from being done, hold off adding it just yet – and turn the chicken down in this case as well).

Once pasta is done, strain it and add it to the chicken/pepper mixture. Whisk the sauce once more and pour over the chicken & pasta. Toss to coat thoroughly. Keep heat on medium and heat until sauce thickens slightly. Add sliced green onions and stir to combine.
Serve in bowls and sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts if desired (and DO desire it...these two additions are the crowning glory!).

Get ready to drift off into deliciousness!