Recipe - Spicy Thai Noodles

Happy Easter, Sisters!  In our family, Easter dinner is usually comprised of all-American fare such as Baked Ham, Au Gratin Potatoes, Fresh Asparagus, Hot Rolls, and Strawberry Shortcake.  Sometimes my dad gets his way and we sub out the Au Gratins with his all-time favorite Potato Salad.  If you are interested, go HERE to see my recipe for Au Gratin potatoes, HERE to see the Potato Salad, HERE for homemade Rolls, and HERE if you just want easy instructions for boiling your Easter eggs.  Meanwhile, if you'd like to try something new (not for Easter of course, but maybe for dinner one night) I think you'll enjoy a tasty dish I've been wanting to experiment with for a long time and finally got my chance this past week.  Spicy Thai Noodles  or "Thai Peanut Noodles" as it's also called, is something I've always thought sounded intriguing, especially since most of my pasta based recipes call for cheese of some sort.  Thai food is a cuisine I haven't had much experience with, either eating or cooking, but I was pleased by how much we enjoyed the version I came up with.  My recipe made enough to serve six, so we actually ate it for three meals! Here's some interesting things I've learned about Thai food:  
Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a spicy edge. It is known for its complex interplay of at least three and up to four or five fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and spicy. David Thompson, a prolific chef and expert on Thai food, observed that unlike many other cuisines:  
"Thai food isn't about simplicity. It's about the juggling of disparate elements to create a harmonious finish.   Some westerners think it's a jumble of flavors, but to a Thai that's important; it's the complexity they delight in." 
So when the leftovers from Easter dinner are gone, try making your family something new and unexpected.  It could even start your young future missionaries on the road to enjoying the exotic flavors they may encounter one day in a land far from home.

 Spicy Thai Noodles

This recipe calls for a few things you may not have on hand, but they are easy to find at the store.

You can't see the ginger very well in this grouping because the light was glaring, but if you've never used a fresh ginger root before, they look like this:

Do not buy very much!  Just one of those little nubbins will be enough for the tablespoon you'll need, so grab the smallest piece at the store you can find and it will be plenty.   I also forgot to include my sesame oil in the above photo.  It looks like this:

I've had this same bottle in my fridge for years.  Really.  I think it must keep forever.  A little bit goes a long way.

Here are the ingredients:

1 lb Thin Spaghetti or Linguini
2 Tablespoons Sesame Seed Oil
1 1/2 to 2 cups of julienned Carrots
3 to 4 cups chopped Nappa Cabbage
1 1/2 lb boneless Chicken Thighs, cleaned and cut
1 bunch Green Onions, sliced
5 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 Tablespoon minced Ginger Root
1/3 cup Honey
1/3 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Sriracha Chili Sauce
1 bunch Cilantro leaves, chopped
2 Limes, cut into wedges

-First, get your chicken ready.  You can use breast meat for this if you wish, but thighs are more flavorful, even though cleaning them can be tedious to remove the fat.  Return it to the fridge while you prepare your vegetables.

-If you don't have a julienne shredder for your carrots, you can do it by hand with a small, sharp knife.

To clean the Nappa Cabbage, cut off and discard the core end, rinse well in cold water and drain.

Then coarsely chop.

Slice up your green onions . . .

mince the garlic . . .

and grate the ginger root.

Peel it first, with a paring knife.

If you don't have a microplane zester, just use your smallest cheese grater, or mince finely with a knife.  Now get your cilantro and limes ready.

-Cook your chicken over low heat in 1 to 2 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  You don't want the oil to burn, so keep the heat low and cook until the chicken is thoroughly done (you can tell if you cut one of the larger pieces in half).  It should only take a few minutes.  Meanwhile, measure out your sauce ingredients.

Did I forget to say start cooking your noodles?  Sorry! This can be done at any point while you're working on the other things.  Boil the pasta in a pot of water to which you've added a tablespoon or two of salt.  Don't overcook it.  Drain and set aside.  If it cools down too much because the sauce isn't ready, that's OK because the sauce will warm it up again.

When the chicken is done, add the vegetables, stir together,  and cook just a minute or two.

Now add the sauce ingredients (peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, and Sriracha). 

Simmer a minute, then add the spaghetti into the pan and toss.

Coat the noodles evenly with the sauce.

Place in individual bowls with tongs and top with chopped cilantro leaves and/or additional sliced green onion.  Garnish with lime wedges to be squeezed on top. 

Note:  If you want the dish to be hotter or less hot, adjust the Sriracha sauce accordingly.  The amount suggested provides what I would consider an average amount of heat, probably about right for most people.  Kin-khao-hai-a-roi-na!