Thai Chicken Stir Fry

One of my favorite Asian dishes is a Thai peanut chicken stir fry with rice noodles.  I used to make it with a packet of peanut sauce mix purchased at the grocery store. For this week’s Asian dish as a part of my challenging cuisine challenge, I have recreated the dish from scratch, using the peanut sauce I made last week.  Topped with cilantro and roasted peanuts, there is no mistaking this dish for a pre-packaged box mix! If you didn’t make my Thai Chicken and Peanut Slaw, you can just make the sauce by itself for this dish – it’s quite simple!

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces Thai rice noodles
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced on a diagonal
• 1 large red pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 small yellow squash, cut into bite-size pieces
• 8 ounces snap peas, trimmed
• 1 1/2 cups peanut sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
• Lime slices (optional)

Directions:

Prepare the rice noodles according to the package directions for a stir fry (most noodles need to be soaked in very hot water for about 20-30 minutes prior to stir frying).

Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken breast and stir fry until the chicken is cooked through.  Add the pepper, squash, and snap peas.  Stir fry until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy.  Drain the rice noodles, and add them to the skillet.  Stir to combine with the chicken and vegetables.  Pour the peanut sauce over the noodles, chicken, and vegetables and stir fry for an additional 2-3 minutes to warm the sauce.

Serve the stir fry topped with freshly chopped cilantro and roasted peanuts.  Garnish with slices of lime, if desired.