Peanut Chicken Noodle Bowls

I wrote previously about smoking, shredding and freezing whole chickens.  These noodle bowls are one of our favorite ways to utilize our pre-cooked chicken.  They're delicious and very refreshing for hot summer days.  We have these regularly when we have guests as they are always a big hit and each person assembles their own bowl and can customize it to their specific tastes.  The peanut sauce is easy to make and freezes well, so you can make up a big batch and freeze it in smaller portions to save you the work the day of or you can easily whip it up when you're getting your bowls ready. This is a "Some Assembly Required" meal, but it is very easy to throw together.

Adapted from: Smitten Ktichen
Difficulty: Easy
Category: Some Assembly Required
Column: BN



Peanut Sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
3/4 tbsp minced fresh ginger
4 tbsp creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp sesame oil
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp water

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

To freeze:

This amount of peanut sauce will serve four.  Divide into desired number of containers and freeze.

To serve:

Thaw the peanut sauce and chicken overnight in the refrigerator.  You can reheat the chicken in the microwave as described here or you can serve it cold.  We have done both, depending on our mood, and both ways are tasty.  Serve the chicken and sauce with cold Asian noodles, chopped veggies, fresh herbs and the dipping sauce below.  We've used thin rice noodles, udon noodles and soba noodles.  All were delicious, so pick the one that you like best.  Our favorite is the thin rice noodles.  As you can see, there is a lot of flexibility in how to serve this.  This is our favorite way to have it to give you some ideas, but don't be afraid to experiment.

Serves 4

6 oz shredded chicken

8 oz green beans, lightly blanched

1 cucumber, quartered and sliced

carrots, julienne - I buy a small bag of pre-cut julienne carrots to save on time.

fresh mint, chopped

3 green onions, sliced

8 oz thin Thai rice noodles cooked then cooled by running under cool water

dipping sauce (see below)

1. We lay out all the ingredients and let everyone make their own bowl.  Start by placing rice noodles in a bowl.  Sprinkle mint over the noodles and pour some of the dipping sauce over them.
2. Add vegetables and chicken and drizzle peanut sauce over everything.

Dipping Sauce 

3 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp brown sugar

6 tbsp lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced

sprinkle of crushed red chile flakes

1. Mix all the ingredients together.