Asian Style Peanut Chicken Pasta

The inspiration for tonight's dinner came from a microwave dinner:



I really enjoy the "zesty peanut sauce" as Smart Ones describes this entree served over rice noodles. I set out to create my own. This turned out to be a quick, easy, and delicious meal that was popular with the whole family.




I started out by stir frying about a pound of cut up boneless skinless chicken breast.


While the chicken cooked I worked on my sauce. You'll need low fat peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, garlic, a little ginger, and some cornstarch and water. In a bowl, combine the cornstarch and water first, then add in the other ingredients and stir until they are mixed.


Once the chicken was no longer pink, I removed it to a covered bowl to keep it warm. Then I sliced half an onion and a carrot and stir fried them until tender. I used a little salt to season both the chicken and the veggies.


When the onion and carrot are tender crisp, add in the sauce. Bring it to a boil and cook until the sauce is thickened.


Return the chicken to the mixture and stir.


Now add in about half a box of cooked linguine.


I think that the linguine was better with this recipe. It certainly made the dish appear more like the original.


That said, I really liked the rice noodles too. I decided to try some each way. These were the rice noodles that my local grocery had in stock.



A little different than the wider version used in the Smart Ones Thai Style Chicken and Rice Noodles. My four year old preferred the rice noodles. They certainly were more messy than the linguine. Stretchy and stringy, they went on forever when you pulled them from the bowl with a fork. They were probably more fun for a four year old to eat...at the very least more challenging. That's my kid. She never wants to do anything the "easy way". Here it is with the rice noodles:


I prefer a little more "heat" than this dish offered. Then next time I make it, I'll probably add some red pepper flakes to the sauce.

Asian Style Peanut Chicken Pasta

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
8 oz. linguine or rice noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into 1-1/2" pieces
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 T. oil for cooking
salt to taste
Sauce:
2 t. cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup reduced fat peanut butter
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. red pepper flakes or to taste
pinch of ground ginger or fresh grated ginger root

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a skillet, cook chicken in oil until no longer pink. Remove to a covered bowl to keep warm. Add the carrot and onion to the skillet and stir fry until tender crisp. Mix sauce ingredients in a bowl, combining the cornstarch and water first. Add the sauce to the vegetables in the skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Return the chicken to the skillet. Stir. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss until coated.