Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles with Chicken
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These Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles are made with fragrant aromatics, snow peas, broccoli, carrots, perfectly seasoned chicken pieces, soba noodles and a delightful creamy peanut sauce that’s spicy-sweet with a hint of tang! It’s easy to make in 30 minutes and lip-smacking tasty!
Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles is happening today friends, which means it’s a really good day!
Inspired by my popular peanut sauce ground pork stir-fry, this easy to make soba noodles stir-fry features:
- Fragrant aromatics like garlic, ginger and fresh chilies.
- Colorful crisp-tender veggies. We have carrots, broccoli florets and snow peas.
- Juicy perfectly seasoned chicken pieces.
- Soba (also known as buckwheat noodles). These noodles are higher in protein and fiber than your average noodles and have a fantastic firm texture and slightly nutty flavor!
- A delectable easy peanut sauce that’s spicy, sweet, creamy and zingy coating everything!
- Bright herbs and sesame seeds. Toasted sesame seeds, crunchy peanuts if you like, coriander and spring onion to finish and make everything look pretty!
Mwaaahh!! There’s so much goodness happening in this noodles dish! 😍
While there’s a bit of prep work with chopping and preparing the aromatics and veggies involved (you can totally use store-bought pre-cut fresh or frozen veggies for a shortcut though), this spicy peanut soba noodles stir-fry comes together in just a few short minutes. With a bit of multi-tasking, these noodles will be ready to go just 30 minutes!
Why This Recipe Works
- Quick and easy! All you need is 30 minutes and this dish is ready to be devoured!
- High in protein and fiber. Soba noodles are higher in protein and fiber that most other noodles and have a delicious nutty flavor. The chicken, powdered peanut butter, and delightful array of refreshing veggies also boost the protein and fiber content in this dish.
- Delicious lower in fat peanut sauce! Using powdered peanut butter to make the peanut butter for the sauce results in a lower in fat and calories sauce that is still tasty and creamy!
- Customizable. You can switch out the chicken for your fave protein (shrimp, pork, beef, tofu, etc.) and clean out your crisper drawer to use whatever veggies you have on hand!
- Tasty at any temperature. These noodles taste good hot from the wok, at room temperature and cold from the fridge too.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutes
- Chicken: I used diced boneless and skinless chicken breasts, but boneless and skinless chicken thighs can be used if preferred. I’ve seasoned the chicken with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and ground cayenne. Use paprika instead of cayenne for a milder flavor.
- Aromatics: Garlic, ginger, Thai Bird’s Eye red chilies, and spring onion (scallion/green onion). Feel free to use any type of hot red chilies you like and adjust the quantity to taste based on your heat level preference. You can also leave them out completely for a milder noodles dish.
- Asian Red Shallots: Or use regular shallots or red onion as a substitute.
- Coriander (Cilantro): Leave it out if you’re not a fan.
- Veggies: I used broccoli florets, snow peas and carrots here but any stir-fry friendly veggies will work! See the ‘Variations’ section below for some other veggie suggestions.
- Soba Noodles: Soba noodles are thin Japanese noodles that are dark brown to gray in color. They are made from buckwheat. However, many varieties today are made with a combination of buckwheat and wheat flour, which is what I’ve used here. Buckwheat noodles are high in protein and fiber and have a slight nutty flavor. They have a lovely firm yet soft texture and hold up really well in sauces without absorbing it all. Find them in any mainstream supermarket or purchase a pack online.
- Peanut Oil: Or use any neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point.
- Lime: For freshly squeezed lime juice to brighten up everything at the end with a hint of tang.
- Garnishes: Finish of your plate of spicy peanut soba noodles with a sprinkling of toasted white or black sesame seeds, chopped roasted peanuts, spring onion and coriander. The more the merrier!
- Powdered Peanut Butter: Instead of peanut butter, I used PB2 powdered peanut butter and reconstituted it with water for a lower in calorie and fat alternative. It works brilliantly to create a light, creamy peanut sauce for this recipe. However, you’re welcome to use a regular natural or commercial peanut butter if preferred.
- Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce: Using low sodium soy sauce gives use better control over the salt levels.
- Thai Sweet Chili Sauce: Use your favorite brand! Mine is Pantai Hot & Spicy Sweet Chili Sauce which is spicier than other brands. Mae Ploy’s sweet chili sauce also has a great heat level. If you prefer milder, try Thai Kitchen sweet chili sauce.
- Distilled White Vinegar. To add a little acidity to balance out the sweet and spicy flavors.
- Sesame Oil: Just a splash to infuse the noodles with wonderful toasted sesame aromas.
- Crushed Red Pepper: Adjust the quantity to suit your heat preference.
Full ingredient list and amounts are in the recipe card below.
How to Make Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles with Chicken
1. Blanch the broccoli and snow peas in a pot of boiling water. Transfer to an ice bath to “shock” them. (Blanching helps to par-cook the veggies so that they don’t take too much time to finish cooking when stir-frying. The ice bath helps them to maintain a crisp-tender texture and their color.) After a minute, transfer the veggies to a clean bowl and set aside.
2. Prepare the soba noodles. Cook them according to package instructions until al-dente in a pot of boiling water. Drain and rinse with cold water to halt the cooking process. Rinsing them well also prevents the noodles from absorbing all the sauce later on when stir-frying.
3. Season and air-fry the chicken. Preheat the air-fryer at 190°C/375°F. Season the diced chicken pieces and toss to coat. Place the chicken pieces in the air fryer and spray lightly with cooking spray. Air fry for 6-7 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through, until just cooked. Transfer the chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.
Note: I love cooking seasoned chicken pieces in the air fryer because they come out wonderfully tender and perfectly cooked every single time. You also don’t need much cooking oil spray at all when using the air fryer method. However, if you don’t own an air fryer or want to make this dish simpler, you can cook the chicken in a wok lightly sprayed with oil instead.
4. Sauté the aromatics. Heat oil in a large nonstick wok and sauté the shallots, ginger, and spring onion white and light green parts, garlic and red chilies until softened and fragrant.
5. Stir-fry the carrots, blanched broccoli and snow peas until combined.
6. Add the noodles, chicken and sauce. Mix and toss until the sauce coats everything well and clings to the noodles.
7. Add the lime juice and toss through the herbs. Reserve some of the spring onion dark green parts and coriander for garnish. Switch off the heat.
Serve! Divide evenly onto plates and garnish with toasted white sesame seeds and chopped peanuts if desired. Top with the reserved spring onion and coriander and enjoy!
Full detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook’s Tips
- Make it milder. Omit the fresh red chilies in the stir-fry. Use less or omit the crushed red pepper from the peanut sauce and use a mild Thai sweet chili sauce. Also, use paprika instead of ground cayenne for seasoning the chicken.
- Make it creamier. Use more powdered peanut butter or a natural or commercial peanut butter for the sauce.
- Use pre-cut or frozen veggies. To save time, you can buy and use pre-cut veggies from the supermarket. Frozen veggies like corn, shelled edamame, broccoli can also be used instead of fresh veggies.
- Enjoy it hot, at room temperature or cold. These noodles taste great at any temperature! Though if eating them cold from the fridge, I recommend letting them sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to take the chill off a little so that the flavors are more pronounced.
- Don’t overcook the soba noodles and rinse them well after cooking. Usually, 2-3 minutes are all that they need in a pot of hot boiling water if using the dried version. Be sure to rinse them after cooking to get rid of excess starches. Otherwise, they will clump, absorb all the sauce and turn into mush when you attempt to stir-fry them.
- Make it for meal prep. Double the ingredients by clicking the ‘2x’ button in the recipe card below to make 4 servings. I recommend cooking in two batches if your wok is not big enough to handle double the ingredients. Store in airtight sealed meal prep containers and enjoy it for lunch or dinner throughout the week!
FAQs
Powdered peanut butter is basically powdered peanuts. Peanuts are pressed to remove oil and fats and then are ground into a fine powder. It can be reconstituted by mixing it with water or with other liquids such as water, juice, milk, etc.
If made 100% from buckwheat, soba noodles are gluten-free. However, several brands produce soba noodles that are made with a combination of buckwheat and wheat flour. Be sure to check the ingredients label if you are adhering to a gluten-free diet.
Soba noodles are one of the healthiest types of noodles since it is made from buckwheat. Buckwheat flour is rich in fiber and protein and contains several vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Buckwheat also acts as a great prebiotic and has a low glycemic index. They are highly nutritious and including them in your diet has several health benefits.
Variations
- Make it with a different protein. Use air fried or sautéed shrimp/prawns, sautéed sliced pork tenderloin (fillet) or beef flank or skirt steak. You can even make this with lean ground chicken, turkey or pork. Simply add it to the wok after sautéing the aromatics in step 1 and season with the seasonings. Cook for 2-3 minutes and break up the clumps until the meat is just cooked. Then add the veggies and proceed with the rest of the recipe. If opting to use ground meat, start with 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok instead of half a tablespoon.
- Use different veggies. Try shredded purple or green cabbage, Chinese (Napa) cabbage, sliced bell peppers (any color), mushrooms, sugar snap peas, green garden peas, shelled edamame, baby corn, frozen sweet corn kernels, etc. Virtually any stir-fry friendly veggies would work well in this spicy peanut soba noodles!
- Use different noodles. If soba noodles aren’t your thing, use any type of noodles you prefer. Thin dried rice noodles like the type used in pad thai or in pad mee korat which are even thinner, mung bean vermicelli (glass noodles), or thin yellow egg noodles would work well.
- Make it gluten-free. Use tamari or a gluten-free soy sauce for the sauce and also make sure that the Thai sweet chili sauce you’re using if GF certified. Ensure that the soba noodles you’re using are made 100% from buckwheat.
- Make it vegetarian. Use crispy pan-fried tofu or tempeh, or a plant-based meat substitute instead of chicken.
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More Stir-fried Noodles
More Recipes with Peanut Butter
Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles with Chicken
Perfectly seasoned chicken pieces, soba noodles, fragrant aromatics and veggies get tossed in a delightful and light creamy peanut sauce in this Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles with Chicken! It’s easy to make and lip-smacking tasty!
- Prep Time: 16
- Cook Time: 14
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stir-fry
- Cuisine: Thai-inspired
Ingredients
For the Peanut Sauce:
- 26 grams / 4 TBLS Powdered Peanut Butter (or use 2–3 TBLS peanut butter – note 1)
- 90ml / ¼ cup + 2 TBLS Water
- 15ml / 1 TBLS Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
- 35 grams / ≈ 1.5 TBLS Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (I used Pantai Hot & Spicy Sweet Chili Sauce)
- 7.5ml / ½ TBLS Distilled White Vinegar
- ½ TSP Sesame Oil
- ½ – 1 TSP Crushed Red Pepper, to taste
For the Chicken:
- 230 grams / 8 ounces Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless – cleaned, pat-dried
- ¼ TSP Kosher Salt, to taste
- ¼ TSP ground Black Pepper
- ¼ TSP Garlic Powder
- ¼ TSP ground Cayenne, to taste (or substitute paprika for milder flavor)
- Cooking Oil Spray
For the Peanut Sauce Soba Noodles:
- 20 grams / 4-5 Garlic cloves – minced
- 6 grams / 2 TSP minced Ginger
- 40 grams / 2-3 small Asian Red Shallots (or use regular shallots or red onion) – peeled, finely chopped
- 10– 25 grams / 3- 9 fresh Red Chilies (note 2 – I used Thai Bird’s Eye but any small hot red chilies is fine), to taste
- 18 grams / 1 medium Spring Onion (Green Onion/Scallion) – chopped, white and light greens separated from the dark green parts
- 6 grams / 3 sprigs Coriander (Cilantro) – chopped
- 100 grams / ≈ 1 cup Broccoli Florets
- 50 grams / 1.75 ounces Carrot – peeled, cut into matchsticks
- 50 grams / 1.75 ounces Snow Peas – ends trimmed, hairy parts removed
- 120 grams / 4.2 ounces dried Soba Noodles (note 3)
- ½ TBLS Peanut Oil (or any neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point)
- ½ TBLS freshly squeezed Lime Juice
- To Serve (optional): ½ TSP or more toasted white or black sesame seeds, chopped unsalted roasted peanuts, reserved spring onion and coriander
Instructions
Prep:
- Prepare the fresh ingredients: Chop/prepare the garlic, ginger, shallots, red chilies, spring onion coriander, broccoli, carrot and snow peas as indicated in the ‘ingredients’ section.
- Make the sauce: In a small measuring glass or bowl, mix together the powdered peanut butter and water until smooth and fluid. Add the low sodium light soy sauce, Thai sweet chili sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and crushed red pepper. Mix well to combine and set aside.
- Blanch the broccoli and snow peas: Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with water and ice. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and snow peas and boil for 1-2 minutes over medium heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the veggies to the ice bath to “shock” them. After 1 minute, drain and transfer to a clean bowl and set aside.
- Prepare the soba noodles: Fill the pot with water again and bring to a rolling boil. Add the soba noodles and cook according to package instructions until al-dente. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water to halt the cooking process and remove excess starches.
For the Peanut Sauce Soba Noodles with Chicken:
- Season and air-fry the chicken: Preheat the air-fryer at 190°C/375°F for 3 minutes (or according to manufacturer’s instructions. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to a medium bowl. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder and ground cayenne (or paprika). Mix to coat, then place the chicken pieces in the air fryer in an even layer and spray lightly with cooking spray. Air fry for 6-7 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through. Transfer the chicken to a clean bowl and set aside. (Note: If you don’t own an air fryer, you can sauté the seasoned chicken in a wok lightly sprayed with oil for 5-7 minutes or until cooked.)
- Sauté the aromatics: Heat ½ tablespoon of peanut oil in a large nonstick wok over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, ginger, and spring onion white and light green parts. Sauté for 30 seconds until starting to soften. Add the garlic and red chilies and stir-fry for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Stir-fry the veggies: Add the carrots, blanched broccoli and snow peas and stir-fry for 1 minute to combine.
- Add the noodles, chicken and sauce: Add the cooked noodles and chicken and pour the peanut sauce over everything. Mix and toss for 1-2 minutes until the sauce coats everything well and clings to the noodles.
- Add the lime juice and toss through herbs: Add the freshly squeezed lime juice and toss through most of the spring onion dark green parts and coriander (reserve some of both for garnish). Switch off the heat.
- To Serve: Divide evenly onto plates and garnish with toasted white sesame seeds and chopped peanuts if desired. Sprinkle the reserved spring onion green parts and coriander on top. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
- Powdered Peanut Butter. Powdered peanut butter is basically powdered peanuts. Peanuts are pressed to remove oil and fats and then are ground into a fine powder. It can be reconstituted by mixing it with water or with other liquids. I’ve used PB2 powdered peanut butter here for a lower in calorie and fat alternative. You’re welcome to use 2-3 tablespoons of a natural or commercial peanut butter if preferred. Note that the nutritional information will vary if doing so.
- Fresh Red Chilies. Adjust quantity to taste based on your heat level preference. Omit for a milder noodles dish.
- Soba Noodles. These are thin light brown Japanese noodles that are made from buckwheat. However, many varieties today are made with a combination of wheat flour and buckwheat, which is what I’ve used here. Buckwheat noodles are high in protein and fiber and have a slight nutty flavor. They have a firm yet soft texture and hold up really well in sauces without absorbing it all. Find them in any mainstream supermarket or purchase it online.
- Make it milder. Omit the fresh red chilies in the stir-fry. Use less or omit the crushed red pepper from the peanut sauce and use a mild Thai sweet chili sauce. Use paprika instead of ground cayenne for seasoning the chicken.
- Make it for meal prep. Double the ingredients by clicking the ‘2x’ button at the top of the recipe card to make 4 servings. I recommend cooking in two batches if your wok is not big enough to handle double the ingredients. Store in airtight sealed meal prep containers and enjoy for lunch or dinner throughout the week!
- Storing and leftovers. These noodles will last for 3-4 days in airtight sealed containers in the fridge. To enjoy warm, reheat in the microwave on high for 2-3 minutes or until hot throughout. You can also enjoy them cold. I recommend letting them sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes after taking them out of the fridge. This will help to take the chill off a little so that the flavors are more pronounced.
- See ‘Variations’ in the post above if you’d like to customize these noodles.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ of recipe
- Calories: 583
- Sugar: 16.6g
- Sodium: 1407.5mg
- Fat: 12.8g
- Saturated Fat: 2.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 67g
- Fiber: 5.6g
- Protein: 45g
- Cholesterol: 84mg
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Wow this is amazing recipe. I will try. Thanks for sharing👌
Thanks Rita! Hope you enjoy and happy cooking!