Asian Chicken Noodle Bowl

   Hey again! Thanks for clicking over to the blog.

   This is one of the busiest months for most of us. End of the school year, prom, formal, graduation, awards ceremonies. Life is slowly returning to “normal” (or at least the new normal). So I wanted to share a super easy, versatile and quick recipe that I think everybody in the family will enjoy. We have it once a week and it gives us leftovers for lunch the next day. It is nutritious and I bet you have everything you need for the recipe in your pantry right now!

   I love it because you can use pretty much any staples you have on hand and different veggies and proteins. I use leftover steak, roasted chicken and pork belly and sometimes even forgo the protein and just throw every veggies in I’ve got in the fridge. You can’t go wrong! And I love it because it takes less than 30 minutes. And you can fix it in one skillet and a pot for the noodles. Very little clean up. So here you go!

Spicy noodles with chicken

(Serves 4)

1-2 cups Roasted chicken from Bales Farms whole chicken (mix white and dark meat is perfect!), diced OR sliced steak, ground beef, diced pork belly

1 garlic clove, sliced thin

1/4 cup red onions, sliced thin

2 carrots, sliced thin

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin

1/2 cup broccoli, sliced thin

1 cup fresh spinach leaves

8 oz Wide rice noodles (linguine is fine if you don’t have rice noodles) or Ramen noodles

2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed in 2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1-2 teaspoons Chili garlic sauce

Garnishes: fresh cilantro, toasted sesame seeds and green onions

Use more soy sauce if needed

Prepare the noodles per package. Once the water is heating in the pot for the noodles start on the rest of dinner. 

In a bowl place chicken (or protein of choice) and honey, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce and sesame oil. Mix and let sit for a few minutes. Now your noodles are probably ready to go in the boiling water. Cook them according to the directions for your choice of noodles.

Once the chicken is marinading and noodles in water, heat a tablespoon or so of sesame oil in a large skillet. Then add garlic and onion and let sauté for about 1-2 minutes. Next add the rest of the veggies. Let them sauté for 3-4 minutes and add the chicken and marinade. Let that sauté for a minute or so and add the cornstarch and water slurry, which will thicken the sauce. 

Your noodles should be ready to go at this point so crank up the heat and ladle the noodles in the skillet. Stir those just until combined and then divide into bowls. Top with the garnishes and you’re ready to eat!

   Okay, here’s where I’m gonna explain some things I’ve learned. I use red or purple onions because they have a lot more fiber and nutrient content. And they sauté so nicely. They have a sweet taste once cooked. The flatter the onion the milder the taste. Round onions are super strong, no matter what color. So when you’re choosing onions just get the flatter ones and you’ll be happy (and mascara less runny).

   I’ve read that the big difference in homemade Asian noodle dishes and takeout/restaurant dishes is the heat. Commercial woks and stations heat up way more than residential ones so just make your skillet as hot as possible when you add the noodles and the heat will give the dish more of a restaurant flare (ie, sear on the noodles). 

   You can seriously add any veggies you have, except maybe sweet potatoes. I haven’t ever tried those in an Asian dish. Marshall HATES mushrooms (I can’t emphasize this point enough). I have no idea where he gets this aversion as Barry and I both love mushrooms and could eat them everyday. But because of that I don’t put them in this dish. I hate water chestnuts and refuse to use them ever. But if you like those throw them in! If you have peanut oil but not sesame oil use it. It doesn’t matter. I love the flavor of sesame oil so always have that on hand. And I always get the low sodium soy sauce. It tastes basically the same to me and I think it’s probably healthier. 

   So there you go! It looks like a lot but I promise it’s so easy. I hope you like it!

Aliceson