Thai Peanut Noodles

It’s another scorcher of a week here in SoCal.  This year I’m really looking forward to Fall season, more than I’ve done in years past, but it looks like Summer wants to stay awhile longer.

I’m normally an outdoorsy girl, but lately, I’ve been overheating from the 100 degrees weather we are having and opted to stay indoors for most of my weekends.

My favorite places to cool down are:

• At home in front of the A/C reading a book
• Hanging out at a cafe and ordering the largest iced tea and reading on my computer, Kindle or Nook.
• Going to Barnes and Noble and finding a new book to read
• If all of these places are crowded, I retreat at the mall and brave the crowds, and probably buy something I don’t need so I don’t leave the mall empty handed.

This weekend though, we went to a 1st Birthday party and although the heat followed us inside, it was fun to hang out with friends and enjoy eating  birthday cakes.

This is no ordinary birthday cake, this is one of my favorite birthday cake, the Paradise Cake from King’s Hawaiian. It’s a light and fluffy cake and the colors makes it fun to eat.

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I’m slowly getting myself back in the kitchen.

I’m so happy to have made this noodle dish recently, it was delicious and I wish I had made a bigger batch.

We have a favorite Thai restaurant, it’s so close that we can walk to it.

Although I love their pad thai noodle and pad seew noodle dishes, I really wanted to make more noodle dishes at home where I can try to make it healthier.

I picked up this brown rice noodle from Mother’s Market and couldn’t wait to use it.

Raw noodles.

I didn’t make Pad Thai this time, but I used the noodles to make Thai Peanut Noodles.

I cooked 2 types of protein to mix-in with the noodles, tofu and chicken.

Add plenty of vegetables. Snap peas, edamame, green onion and cabbage.

And lots of eggs.

Mix all ingredients and I had myself a tasty dish.

After I made the sauce, it was clear this dish was going to be a winner.

Thai Peanut Noodles

(recipe adapted from Iowa Girl Eats)

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 4oz cooked pad thai noodles (or fettuccini or rice noodles)
• 3 teaspoons oil, divided
• 1 large chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• salt & pepper
• 1 cup tofu, cubed
• 1/2 cup shelled frozen edamame
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 cup finely chopped cabbage (or coleslaw mix)
• 1 bag cup snap peas (about 1 cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 egg
• dash of sesame oil
• 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped (optional)

For the sauce:

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons natural peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic paste

Instructions

• Add all sauce ingredients into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet on high, and add 1 teaspoon oil. Season chicken with salt & pepper, then add into the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through. Remove to a plate.
• Add another teaspoon of oil to the wok and add in tofu. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Remove to the plate with the chicken.
• Add the final teaspoon of oil to the skillet then add in edamame, green onions, cabbage, snap peas and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently until vegetables are tender and cabbage is wilted,  about 3-4 minutes. Remove to the plate with the chicken and tofu.
• In a small dish, whisk together the eggs and a dash of sesame oil. Add to the skillet and stir constantly until soft scrambled.
• Add cooked chicken, tofu and vegetables back into the wok, as well as the cooked noodles. Pour sauce into wok and toss all ingredients to combine.
• Serve garnished with chopped peanuts and extra sliced green onions, if desired.

I added a little Sriracha to my plate to add some heat.

It was my first time using the brown rice noodles and I will definitely use it again. I couldn’t even tell that it was whole grain.

This dish is also great as leftovers for lunch, can be eaten cold if you want, I did 🙂

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Do you like Thai food? What are your favorite Thai dishes?

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