If an Asian stir fry is not already in your list of weeknight dinners…then you need to add it. The best thing about a stir fry is that it makes a ton and it’s not very expensive. Plus, it’s better and healthier than asian takeout. You can easily feed 6 with this recipe and still have some left over for lunch the next day. We eat at home probably 6 nights a week and sometimes order takeout on the weekend (so I can get a little break from cooking). This has been one of my favorite dinners for years now. Since most of the ingredients are pantry items, I try to keep everything stocked in my kitchen for nights I don’t have anything planned. This is one of those meals you don’t have to put a lot of thought into. You can add whatever vegetables and protein you have in your fridge and it will turn out great every time. I love to pack mine with multiple vegetables for a variety of texture and taste. It’s also a great way to get kids to eat veggies without complaining. Since the veggies get tossed with the sauce, they take on the sweet soy flavor completely. So yummy.
Some of my favorites to add are:
Broccoli
Snap peas
Carrots
Scallions
Bell pepper
Onion
Cabbage
Chicken breast
Shrimp
Tofu (if you prefer to go meatless)
Although you can definitely make this dish without a wok, I do recommend purchasing one. You can find them pretty cheap at places like Target or Walmart or even World Market. Williams Sonoma and Crate & Barrel also carry wild as well, although they will be a touch more expensive. I think mine was under $30 at World Market a couple years back. I got a pretty large one, which comes in handy for large dishes like this. If you don’t have a wok and don’t want to get one, you can use a large pot instead. A nonstick pot would work best to insure the noodles do not stick. I’ve done it in a large pot before and it does cook a bit differently and is a bit harder to toss everything around. So understand that when cooking with a pot as apposed to a wok. I’ll link a few options for woks below. It’s something I think is such a great investment. I use mine any time I cook asian cuisine…which is probably 3 times a week. We love all things Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese in this house!
PRODUCTS I LOVE:
SPICY THAI NOODLES WITH CHICKEN
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Serves: 6 dinner portions
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb thick rice noodles (like, A Taste of Thai), soaked in super hot water for 25 minutes then drained
- 2 chicken breasts, very thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp canola oil
- 1 yellow onion, large dice
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1 cup green cabbage, large chop
- 6 cloves garlic, small chop
- 1.5 cups broccoli florets
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, small chop
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup toasted peanuts
- 1 bunch scallions, thin dice
- 1/2 cup cilantro, small chop
For the sauce: whisk all ingredients together
- 1/2 lime, juice of
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp sambal oelek, can omit
DIRECTIONS:
- Soak rice noodles in very hot water for 25 minutes. Mix around occasionally to insure none of them stick together. The noodles should be bendy but the middle should be slightly hard still. Drain and set aside.
- Heat a large wok to high heat. Add in canola oil, chicken, garlic and ginger. Cook while stirring for a few minutes. The chicken should be cooked half way through at this point.
- Add in all the vegetables and stir to combine. After a minute, move everything in the wok to one side. Add in eggs and scramble quickly. Mix all ingredients together once eggs are almost cooked through.
- Quickly add in the noodles, 1/2 the peanuts, cilantro, 1/2 the scallions and all of the sauce. The sauce is going to create a pool that the noodles will cook in, and in time will soak in all the sauce. Carefully mix everything every minute and let cook till noodles are tender. Stirring while cooking is very important so that all the noodles get cooked.
- After about 5 minutes, the noodles should be cooked and almost all the sauce is soaked up. The noodles should still be shiny and wet with sauce when done cooking. Be careful not to overcook.
- Turn off heat and serve hot with extra peanuts and scallions.