Did you know that red Thai chili peppers at the farmer’s market are only sold by the hundreds?
Not kidding.
And yes, I’m still talking about the farmer’s market.
So what do you do when you only need one? Just one little itty bitty red Thai chili?
Well, you could do what I did, which was ask the lady for $1.00 worth of red Thai chilis, even though you only need about 1 cents worth.
Which leads to the real question: what do you do with the 29 extra red Thai chilis that you didn’t need in the first place?
And the answer is: make this peanut chicken salad 29 more times! Because noodles, red Thai chilis, creamy peanut sauce, and chicken makes for one heck of a salad. A creamy, thick, and intensely flavorful salad. A lettuce-less salad. A portable lunch salad.
Speaking of portable lunches, guess who’s going back to school tomorrow?
Spicy Peanut Chicken Salad
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Prep Time: 10 mins -
Cook Time: 5 mins
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Total Time: 15 minutes
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Yield: 6
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This spicy peanut chicken salad is made with noodles, lots of fresh veggies and a spicy homemade Thai-style peanut sauce.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 cup julienne red and yellow pepper
- 1 cup shredded or julienne carrots
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1 cup chopped or shredded cooked chicken breast
- 8 oz. cooked soba noodles or whole grain linguine
For the Dressing:
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons sesame or canola oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 minced small red Thai chili pepper, seeds and ribs removed (another hot chili pepper, such as jalapeno or serrano, could be substituted)
- 1/3 cup peanuts
Instructions
- Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl.
- Puree all remaining ingredients (except peanuts) in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add peanuts last and process until just finely chopped. Pour over salad and toss well.
- Top individual servings with fresh basil and cilantro!
Notes
It’s worth the extra time to make the dressing from scratch! Eat it straight out of the food processor? Sure I did. It has the perfect amount of spiciness, sweetness, and nutty creaminess!
Welp, I have a sad feeling that my leisurely lunch days are coming to an end now that I will actually have one of those job thingies.
It’s been a fun time, Summer old friend. Catch ya on the flip side.
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