Chicken and Peanut Sauce

We had guests this weekend, which was great — but we had absolutely no time to grocery shop.  We’ve been pretty good at piecing together meals with things in the freezer or using pieces of other meals gone by.  Today was no exception, with our thrown-together-but-delicious dish, Chicken and Peanut Sauce.

Marc and I have an uncanny knack for choosing recipes online without really reading the text that surround them.  I found this recipe, and of course didn’t read much about it until AFTER we’d gathered all the ingredients.  The blogger totally came down on her skills and the dish, which of course I didn’t notice until it was almost too late.  I showed Marc the post, feeling a little defeated — completely forgetting, of course, that I’m married to the eternal optimist.  “She didn’t like the sauce?” he asked.  “Not a problem, I’ll just find one that actually works.”

And he did.  Here’s our modified recipe.

Chicken and Peanut Sauce, modified from My Madison Bistro

Chicken and Peanut Sauce

• 3 tbsp. peanut butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. Chinese hot oil (optional, if you don’t like the spicy)
• 3 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. hot water
• 2 scallions, minced (we didn’t have any … sad)
• 1 1/2 c. cooked chicken, diced or chopped (or shredded — whatever floats your boat)
• 1 bag of frozen stir fry vegetables
• 1 tsp. oil
• 2 1/2 c. cooked rice noodles
• Optional garnishes:  Sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, lime, Sriracha sauce, additional scallions

1. In a small bowl, gradually stir sesame oil into peanut butter.  Blend in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, hot oil, and hot water. Add scallions and toss lightly.
2. Heat oil in a wok or large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add vegetables and saute until tender.  Add chicken and saute for a minute to warm through.  Add noodles, and saute for another minute, until noodles are clear and tender.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in peanut sauce.
4. Garnish with sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, lime, Sriracha sauce, additional scallions, or whatever looks good to you.

This was incredibly easy, despite being semi-homemade (Sandra Lee is Marc’s nemesis…).  It came together in just a few minutes, which was the very best part.