Thai Noodle Delight With Sweet-Spicy Peanut Sauce

Submitted by Rare Affaire

"This recipe is absolutely delicious and a great choice when you want something that breaks out of the typical daily grind of typical Western meals without any need for specialty tools or exotic techniques. It does call for a couple of slightly exotic ingredients, but you can't cook even thoroughly Americanized Thai without something of that nature."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Serves: 2-3

ingredients

• 8 ounces chinese-style wheat noodles (We like Marco Polo brand)
• 4 ounces boneless pork (pork is our personal favorite) or 4 ounces chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (pork is our personal favorite)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil or 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1⁄2 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1⁄2 cup smooth natural-style peanut butter (if it separates, that's good)
• 1⁄4 cup coconut milk (don't shake the can and refrigerate before opening... )
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon sambal oelek
• 1⁄4 cup sweet chili sauce (Caravelle is our favorite)
• 1⁄2 medium red onion, large dice
• 18 snow pea pods, trimmed & threaded, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 1 stalk celery, peeled & sliced
• 4 ounces broccoli florets
• 1 carrot, peeled & sliced diagonally (optional)
• 2 scallions, trimmed & cut diagonally in 1/4 inch pieces, both green & white (optional)
• 1⁄2 red bell pepper, julienned (optional)

directions

1. Disolve 1/8 cup salt and 1/4 cup sugar in 1 quart of water in a glass or plastic container. Cut your meat into bite-sized pieces, place in the brine, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. (Pork should be trimmed of silverskin and de-boned. We like using boneless country-style ribs.) (Chicken should be boneless-skinless breast or thigh meat.).
2. Drain meat and allow to dry on paper towels.
3. In a large pan, bring plenty of salted water to boiling. Add noodles and cook according to directions.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, sambal oolek, and sweet chile sauce until smooth. Warm in heavy bottomed pan on stove, but do not cook! Heat to no more than steaming or the sauce might break. (In my personal experience, this sauce doesn't hold well for much more than 20 minutes. It's best to finish and serve immediately.).
5. In a wok or large, heavy skillet, heat 1 Tbls oil on medium-high (or if you're confident with stir-fry, high) heat until the oil just starts to smoke. Immediately add your meat, stirring constantly, until the meat is almost done. Add the garlic and continue cooking about a minute. Remove the meat from the pan and allow to drain.
6. Add the other 1 Tbls oil to the wok and add the veggies in the following order: red onion, carrot (optional), celery, broccoli, snow peas, red bell pepper (optional), scallion (also optional). If you like, you can add other favorite Asian-style vegetables such as water chestnuts or bamboo shoots, but I would avoid mushrooms. Stir very frequently, waiting 30 seconds (for the more tender veggies) to 2 minutes (for the firmer bits) between additions. Just before the veggies are ready to be served, add the meat and stir for just long enough to reheat thoroughly.
7. Serve by putting the meat & veggie mix over the noodles and top with a healthy spooning of peanut sauce. Serve hot.

Reviews

[Colleenschltz]

It was good. I modified it a little. In the future I would use a little less coconut milk. I added a little more soy and lime juice. I also added bean sprouts and cilantro, and substituted the onion for a little onion powder (not a huge fan of it). I had to substitute chili paste for another ingredient I didn't have. But overall I was happy, lol.