Soy Peanut Noodles

TGIF and happy belated Halloween! KK and I opted to lay low last night, cooking up some Cajun Ranch Chicken Pasta and watching football.  Sadly, we didn't have any trick-or-treaters this year... guess the few kids in our building found loot elsewhere.  Instead of celebrating Halloween the traditional way, we're celebrating Dia de Los Muertos on Saturday at Cadallic Cantina with a few friends.  Today, KK is on a mission to find us some skeleton-faced masks so we can celebrate in style! Before the celebrations begin tomorrow evening, KK and I are running a 5K for a friend's birthday in Central Park.  It'll be my first time running in Central Park, so I am kind of looking forward to the scenery around the reservoir.  Even though getting up early and running aren't normally on my list of favorite things to do, it's just one of those things we'll happily do for our friends!

We had a menu mix-up earlier this week! KK had planned to make Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos, but he didn’t realize cilantro couldn’t be substituted for basil pesto.  Whoops! KK had this peanut noodle dish on the menu for later in the week, so we bumped it up a few days and added the chicken that was already thawing in the refrigerator.  Crisis averted! If you don’t have thin spaghetti, you can use regular noodles, or any sort of asian noodles – rice, udon, or soba – anything works! The sauce was a strange mix of salty and sweet, but I really enjoyed it.  We also opted to double the sauce which turned out to be a good decision.  Spiced up with some Sriracha on top, KK and I both went back for seconds, and I demolished the leftovers for lunch earlier this week.  Along with Tofu Pad Thai, I think this will be one of our go-to meals when the pantry is looking bare or I don’t have a lot of time/energy to put into dinner!

Soy Peanut Noodles

Adapted from The Comfort of Cooking

Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

½ lb. thin spaghetti

1 lb. chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 Tbsp + 2 tsp vegetable or canola oil, divided

5 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp rice vinegar

4 Tbsp peanut butter

2 Tbsp honey

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

¾ cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

Directions

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook chicken pieces, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, peanut butter, honey, ginger, and garlic.

4. Add spaghetti, sauce, and peanuts to the skillet of cooked chicken.  Toss with tongs to coat and serve immediately.

Udon Noodles with Peanut Sauce

I’m feeling a bit run down from last weekend, and the bizarre weather (75° Monday and an expected high of 92° today) isn't helping, but KK and I still managed to have a busy Tuesday night.  We went to the Hoboken Volunteers general interest meeting, and we’re hoping to volunteer at their 5th Annual Chili Cook-Off/Craft Beer Competition in February.  The organization is geared towards giving back to the local community, which is something I've had a compelling feeling to do since Hurricane Sandy wracked havoc on Hoboken last October.  After the volunteer meeting, we met up with the Budnicks and some of their Hoboken friends for a competitive game of trivia and $5 All-You-Can-Eat Ribs (none for me, thanks) at McSwiggans.  This is our second time playing together as a team, and it was our second time winning!! I’m not going to lie – I’m not the strongest player on the team, but I was able to contribute to our win with a few random answers.  We used our winnings (a McSwiggans gift card) to pay part of last night’s tab, and now we need to plan another trivia outing to make use of our new winnings (another gift card)!

This is yet another "add whatever veggies you have on hand" recipe.  Despite what I just said, we wanted some greens in the dish, so KK and I stopped at the local bodega to pick up a pack of snow peas at the tail end of our run when we cooked this last week.  In case you were wondering - KK is a former cross country runner, and running is very near to torture for me.  Anyway... I'm always worried about sauce-to-noodle/veggie ratios, but this recipe was spot on.  If you're short on time or feeling a tad bit lazy, you can use jarred peanut sauce.  If you're going that route, I'd start with ½ cup of sauce, and then add more if the dish is still looking dry.  As you can see, I topped my serving with additional Sriracha sauce, but you can always omit the chili flavoring all together if you choose to do so.

Udon Noodles with Peanut Sauce

Adapted from Recipe Girl
Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

8 oz. udon noodles or spaghetti
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp water

¼ cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 ½ tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 ½ tsp sesame oil

½ tsp cornstarch

½ tsp chili sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chopped or shredded carrots
8 oz. snow peas, halved crosswise
5-oz. can water chestnuts, sliced

Directions
1. Cook noodles or pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, combine water, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, cornstarch, chili sauce, and garlic in a small saucepan; whisk until blended.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium and stir constantly for 1 minute.  Set aside.

3.  In a wok, cook chopped carrots over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add snow peas and water chestnuts, and continue to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are tender and some have started to blacken.

4. Remove wok from heat.  Add noodles and peanut sauce to the wok.  Toss well to coat, and serve hot.  If desired, top with additional chili sauce.

Teriyaki Fried Rice

While home last weekend, KK and I helped my dad clean out the pantry and fridge.  KK noticed a nearly empty bottle of Teriyaki sauce in the cabinets and, after my dad confirmed he had no plans to use it, KK confiscated it.  Little did I know that KK already had a recipe in mind for Sunday night, so the bottle never made it past our kitchen counter!

This dish catered to KK’s not-so-secret love of Chinese takeout, and my new-found love for my wok.  This recipe would be great for leftover cooked chicken, or even beef or pork.  Use any veggies you have on hand – water chestnuts, edamame, broccoli (can you believe I’m even suggesting this?!?), asparagus, baby corn, cabbage – I don’t think it’s possible to have too many vegetables! If you’re adding different veggies, make sure you give the most dense varietals a few additional minutes of cook time in your wok.  Start by adding ¼ cup Teriyaki sauce, and then add additional sauce if you think the mixture looks dry.  I measured ¼ cup, but then poured the remainder of the bottle in; I’m guessing it was about ⅓ cup in total.  Since I can’t remember us ever ordering Chinese takeout, KK was in heaven… he had seconds and thirds.  Needless to say, there were no leftovers!

Teriyaki Fried Rice

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked rice

1 tsp vegetable oil, divided

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup sliced carrots

2 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 red pepper, chopped

½ medium onion, chopped

1 cup cubed chicken breast

2 whisked eggs

¼ to ½ cup Teriyaki sauce

Sriracha sauce

Directions

1. Cook rice according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, heat ½ teaspoon oil in the wok; cook chicken until no longer pink inside.  Remove chicken from wok, plate and set aside.

3. Heat the remaining oil in the same wok.  Cook garlic until golden brown, about 1 minute.

4.  Add carrots and cook 3-4 minutes until slightly tender.  Add corn, peas, red pepper, and onion to wok and cook another 3-4 minutes until veggies are tender and start to brown.  Add chicken and warm through.

5. Push vegetable mixture to the sides of the wok.  Add whisked eggs to the center and stir gently until they set.  Add Teriyaki sauce and cooked rice to the wok, and stir until all ingredients are well combined.  Serve and, if desired, top with Sriracha sauce.