This recipe started with drunken noodles in mind, but once I reached for the peanut butter, dinner took a turn. With chicken, veggies, fresh herbs and rice noodles tossed in the creamy peanut sauce, it’s a little savory, a little zesty, and easy to make as spicy as you like.
The trick is giving those rice noodles a little different treatment than your usual pasta. We’ll walk through how to soften them without turning them mushy, then bring everything together with a sauce you can taste and adjust along the way. Grab your favorite vegetables, and let’s make dinner!
You can take these noodles in a few delicious directions! During our livestream, we ended up going all in on a creamy peanut sauce. For a version inspired by drunken noodles, you can go with a savory, soy-based sauce instead. Below are both sauce recipes so you can choose what sounds good, or try them both and find your favorite!
Rice Noodle Prep
For our rice noodles, we brought water to a boil in a tea kettle, then poured it over the noodles in a heatproof bowl and let them soak for about 10 minutes. The key for the noodles we used was soaking them off the heat, rather than keeping them in boiling water like traditional pasta. Follow your package directions, as the method and timing can vary depending on the thickness of your noodles.
You’re looking for noodles that are tender but still have a little chew. If you’ll be tossing them in a hot pan with your sauce, leave them slightly firm so they can finish cooking there. Reserve a cup of the soaking water to thin your sauce or stir-fry, then drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Set them aside until your other ingredients are ready for the pan.
Peanut Sauce
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¼ cup peanut butter
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¼ cup water, plus more as needed
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2 tablespoons sesame oil
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Juice of 2 limes
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1 tablespoon honey
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1½ teaspoons crispy chili paste
Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time, until the sauce is loose enough to easily coat your rice noodles. Taste and adjust the honey, lime, or chili to your liking. You want a bold flavor because the noodles, vegetables, and any extra water will mellow the sauce.
Stir-Fry Sauce
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2 tablespoons soy sauce
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2 tablespoons water
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1 tablespoon oyster sauce
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1 tablespoon brown sugar
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1½ teaspoons miso
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1 garlic clove, finely grated
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1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
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Optional chili sauce for added heat
Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Set aside until you’re ready to toss it with your noodles and stir-fry ingredients. Because rice noodles soak up a lot of sauce, you may want to double or triple this recipe so you have extra on hand as the dish comes together.
You can omit the oyster sauce if you don’t enjoy its flavor.
Chicken Marinade
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2 tablespoons soy sauce
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2 tablespoons avocado oil
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1 tablespoon sesame oil
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1 tablespoon rice vinegar
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Fresh ginger, grated
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Garlic, grated
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Red onion, finely chopped
Cut your chicken into bite-sized cubes. Whisk the marinade ingredients together, then add the chicken and toss until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to cook.
Choose Your Vegetables
This is a great place to use what you have in the refrigerator. Start with a few aromatics to build flavor in the pan:
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¼ onion, thinly sliced
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1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
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1 small knob of fresh ginger, finely diced
For our peanut noodles, we used:
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6 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
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1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
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⅓ cup shredded carrots
Sliced mushrooms, chopped bok choy, or a handful of spinach would also work well. Finish with fresh herbs like cilantro or Thai basil, depending on the flavor you’re going for.
For the drunken noodle direction, you can keep the vegetables simple with bok choy, green onions, and Thai basil. Add the bok choy stems before the leaves so they have a little more time to cook, and save the basil for the end.
Bring It All Together
Have your vegetables chopped, sauce mixed, and noodles drained before you start cooking. Once the pan is hot, everything moves quickly!
Heat a little avocado oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, leaving the excess marinade behind, and cook until cooked through. Transfer to a clean plate.
Add the sliced onion to the pan and cook until it begins to soften. Stir in the chopped garlic and diced ginger, cooking briefly until fragrant.
Add your vegetables, starting with anything that needs more cooking time, like mushrooms or bok choy stems. Follow with the bell pepper and shredded carrots, tossing just until the vegetables begin to soften but still have a little crunch. Add the green onions and any leafy greens toward the end.
Return the chicken to the pan, then add the noodles and your choice of sauce. Gently toss everything together, adding a splash of the reserved noodle water as needed to loosen the sauce. Start with a little—you can always add more.
Once everything is warm and coated, taste a noodle along with a bite of vegetables. Add more sauce, a squeeze of lime, or a little extra chili to make it your own. Fold in your fresh herbs just before serving, and bring it to the table!
