Szechuan Noodles with Peanut Sauce: Linguine noodles add a toothy bite to this spicy Szechuan-inspired dish with peanut sauce and chicken.
These noodles are wonderful piping hot, but are also tasty treat served as a chilled pasta salad.
It seems that I can never get enough noodles. Or peanuts. Or 30 minute meals.
I know it’s not a Monday, so technically I can’t call this a 30 Minute Monday recipe, but just consider this a recipe bonus because I just love you so much.
I’m usually all for sticking to traditional ingredients in Asian recipes, such as rice or yakisoba noodles, but sometimes all you have on hand are good old-fashioned linguine noodles.
And for those times, you need a good recipe. One that you can adapt according to what you have lying around in your pantry and/or refrigerator.
Today’s recipe, Spicy Szechuan Peanut Noodles Chicken, was an invention born from necessity. That necessity being I was way too lazy to hit up the grocery store.
It’s a bit of a fusion dish, and a fun one of that because it is completely different when it’s hot than when it’s chilled. When it’s fresh out of the wok, it’s a hot mess of comfort food with creamy peanut sauce- coated linguine noodles. When it’s cold it takes on the form of a refreshing pasta salad.
This is a good thing, because tonight is Friday, which means tomorrow is Saturday, which means you might be eating food straight out of the refrigerator first thing in the morning. Maybe plan ahead and pick up ingredients for these amazing bloody mary’s while you’re at it.
Szechuan Noodles with Peanut Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large chicken breast - thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon + ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 8 ounces uncooked linguine noodles
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 4 ounces snow peas - strings removed
- 1 medium zucchini - cut into matchsticks
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste - or grated fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
- 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts - roughly chopped
- 2 scallions - chopped on the diagonal
Instructions
- Toss the sliced chicken breast with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce in a small bowl. Set aside to marinate for five minutes.
- Cook the linguine according to package directions. Drain, and reserve one cup of the cooking water.
- Heat the sesame oil in a wok over high heat. Cook the chicken in a single layer, undisturbed, for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Add the snow peas and zucchini, and stir-fry for 3 additional minutes.
- Whisk together the reserved pasta water, peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and Sriracha.
- Add the cooked linguine and sauce to the wok and toss with the chicken and vegetables. To serve, sprinkle with chopped peanuts and scallions.
EASY. QUICK. And AMAZING! Why am I not surprised!? I want to eat it all, that’s the only downside. It’s sooooooooooooooooooo good!
You are so sweet, Denise!!
This looks scrumptious, i love spicy chicken. Thanks for sharing this.
Simon
I read somewhere that pasta originated in China so you can play that card and call it quasi-authentic. Maaaaybe not linguine, but then again who’s paying attention these days. Multicultural mashups make for the best recipes and if it tastes good, who cares where it came from. This looks delicious! 🙂
Thanks, Christy!!