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Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles

Closeup top view of plate with spicy peanut butter noodles with chicken garnished with green onions and cilantro.
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This Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles dish is made with fragrant aromatics, ground chicken, bok choy and chewy and bouncy udon noodles in a lip-smacking tasty creamy peanut butter sauce that’s full of spicy-sweet flavors and a hint of tang! Ready in just 25 minutes, this is weeknight comfort food at its best!  

Ingredients

Scale

Peanut Butter Sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons / 56 grams Creamy Peanut Butter (I used Skippy)
  • 2 tablespoons / 30ml Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
  • ½ tablespoon / 8ml Distilled White Vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons / 14 grams Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
  • 1-2 teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Chili Flakes, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
  • ½ cup / 120ml Noodle Cooking Water

Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles:

  • 2 small / 36 grams Asian Red Shallots – finely chopped
  • 3-4 cloves / 20 grams Garlic – minced
  • 1 teaspoon / 8 grams minced Ginger
  • 1-6 pieces / 3-18 grams fresh Red Chilies (optional – note 1*, I used Thai Bird’s Eye red chilies but any variety can be used, omit for milder dish) – finely chopped
  • 6 pieces / 100 grams Baby Bok Choy – (or regular bok choy, Chinese broccoli (‘gai lan’), or other Asian greens of choice) – leaves/stalks separated, rinsed thoroughly, chopped if needed
  • 3 tablespoons / 6 grams Spring Onion (scallions/green onions – dark green parts only) –chopped
  • 2 sprigs Coriander (Cilantro) – chopped
  • 14 ounces (2 servings) / 400 grams frozen Udon Noodles (note 2)
  • 2 teaspoons Peanut Oil (or any neutral flavored cooking oil)
  • 7 ounces / 200 grams Lean Ground Chicken (note 3)
  • ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt, divided
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed Lime Juice
  • To Serve/Garnish: Reserved spring onion and coriander

Instructions

Prep:

  1. Make the sauce: Combine all the sauce ingredients except the noodle cooking water in a measuring cup – the peanut butter, low sodium light soy sauce, vinegar, Thai sweet chili sauce, crushed red pepper flakes and sesame oil. No need to mix just yet.
  2. Prepare the fresh ingredients: Prepare the shallots, garlic, ginger, chilies, baby bok choy, spring onion and as indicated in the ‘ingredients’ section.

Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles:

  1. Cook the noodles: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once rapidly boiling, lower the heat and add the udon noodle cakes. Use tongs to gently shake the noodle cakes until the strands loosen and soften – about 1 minute. (If using fresh udon, vacuum sealed packs or dried udon noodles, cook according to package instructions.) Transfer ½ cup of water to the measuring cup with peanut butter sauce and mix thoroughly to combine. Drain the into a colander and set aside.
  2. Sauté the aromatics: Heat 2 teaspoons peanut oil in a medium deep edged skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté for a minute until starting to soften. Then add the garlic, ginger and red chilies and sauté for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
  3. Add the ground chicken: Add the lean ground chicken and season with ¼ teaspoon sea salt. Cook for 2 minutes, breaking up the chicken clumps into pieces, until just cooked.
  4. Add the bok choy: Add the baby bok choy and season with the remaining ⅛ teaspoon sea salt. Sauté until starting to soften – about 1 minute.
  5. Add the noodles and sauce: Add the cooked udon noodles and pour the peanut butter sauce on top. Mix well to combine until everything is evenly coated in the sauce and it starts to thicken and cling to the noodles.
  6. Mix through spring onion, coriander and lime juice: Add most of the spring onion and coriander (reserve some for garnish) and the lime juice. Mix well to combine, then switch off the heat.
  7. Serve: Divide evenly onto plates or in bowls and garnish with the reserved spring onion and coriander. Serve immediately.

Equipment

Notes

  1. Fresh Red Chilies. Use more or less chilies to tailor this dish to your heat level preference. You can leave them out completely for a milder dish or if dining with children. Same goes for the crushed red pepper flakes in the peanut butter sauce. For the Thai sweet chili sauce, opt for one that is not extra spicy but on the sweeter side instead.
  2. Frozen Udon Noodles. I used frozen sanuki udon noodles for this recipe and highly recommend seeking them out at your local Asian supermarket. They are incredibly chewy and have a wonderful bite to them! Vacuum sealed packs of pre-cooked fresh udon noodles can also be used. In a pinch, dried udon noodles will work too but note they won’t be as chewy or bouncy as frozen or fresh udon noodles.
  3. Lean Ground Chicken. I used homemade minced chicken breast made in the food processor but store-bought lean ground chicken can also be used. Lean ground turkey, pork or beef would work well. You can even toss in some cooked shredded or diced chicken instead – either homemade or store-bought rotisserie chicken.
  4. Quantity of udon noodles based on type: If using frozen noodles, there is enough sauce for 2 servings of udon noodles (2 x 180-200 gram noodle cakes). Below are the amount of udon noodles you’ll need for this recipe depending on the type you are using.
    • Fresh udon in vacuum sealed packs: 400 grams / 14 ounces.
    • Frozen udon: 360-400 grams / 12.7-14 ounces. Can use 500 grams (2 x 9-ounce noodles cakes/18 ounces) but you’ll need to make adjustments to the sauce ingredients.
    • Dried udon: 200 grams / 7 ounces.
  5. Other noodle options. Soba noodles, egg noodles, wheat noodles or even ramen would work well! Use 2-3 dried ramen noodle bricks or 2 x 160-gram vacuum sealed packs of pre-cooked ramen noodles. Cook in a pot of boiling water before adding to the sauce. Shanghai noodles, like the ones I used in my Shanghai Style Noodles Stir-fry, are wheat-based noodles that are similar to udon and would also work well in this recipe. You can also use noodle-type pasta such as linguini, spaghetti, bucatini, etc.
  6. Storing and reheating leftovers. While these noodles taste best right after cooking, you can store leftovers in a sealed airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat on high in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway through, until hot throughout.
  7. See the ‘Variations’ section in the post above if you’d like to customize this peanut butter noodles dish for specific dietary needs or flavor preferences.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://thatspicychick.com/spicy-peanut-butter-noodles/