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This was good, good, good! The husband, 2 year old and I could not get enough!! It was great warm for dinner and cold for lunch the next day!
Sara Caldwell
Remember when I used to have a dishwasher?
I don’t. Five months of washing dishes by hand means I’ve completely forgotten what life was like back when I had a appliance friend to help me out with my least favorite domestic chore of all the chores, ever. Although laundry is a close second on the list. I think the last time I ironed something was when my mom first taught me how to use an iron. Just kidding Mom! I did iron, like, three times. In 2008. Maybe.
How To Make Our Spicy Peanut Soba Noodle Salad (1 MIN):
The dishwasher thing was totally on accident, because when we bought this house we were so in love with its charm that we sort of, um, forgot to check for a dishwasher.
And suddenly we found ourselves moving in and there I stood, looking around the little kitchen, imagining all the yums that would be created and how cute it would be after a little sprucing up to the cabinets, and suddenly calling in my Emergency Voice to Bjork in the other room if he knew all along there was no dishwasher here?!?! Oh, dear. Not our most responsible house-buying moment.
Lately my workflow has evolved to meet the demands of this no-dishwasher + limited-counter-space thing, so that means lots of pauses during my cooking, during which I’m always really patient and calm and never splashing water all over like a crazy person. Never. I stir, simmer, pause and do dishes. Whisk, chop, pause to put away dishes. Bake, chill, pause to eat the rest of the cookie dough in order to wash out the last lunch container in order to store the completed recipe. And then do the rest of the dishes.
We didn’t have a dishwasher in the Philippines and we had even less counter space, so I guess that was good training for this accidental dishwasher scenario.
Come to think of it, we didn’t have a microwave or a freezer or a consistently functioning fridge, none of which has anything to do with the Philippines and everything to do with our scrappy nature when it comes to setting up a living space for one year. I mean, simplicity is good, right? There has to be something good about that, in its own inconvenient way.
At least we are balancing the inconvenience of our dishwasherless lifestyle with the convenience of this Spicy Peanut Chicken Soba Noodle Salad, since our fridge is stocked to the brim with grab-and-go soba noodle lunch containers for the rest of the year. HAPPY. There’s just a lot of good packed into this one zingy recipe. It’s called a salad, but look at it: no lettuce, no spinach, no greens of any kind. Add greens if you like greens. Or don’t, because it’s really really good with just the crunchy rainbow bell peppers, the shredded chicken, the chewy soba noodles, and the knock your socks off Spicy Peanut Sauce.
I don’t mean that it’s so spicy that it will knock your socks off – I just mean that it’s that life-changingly creamy, spicy, nutty darn good. In my perfect world, I would have a container of this in my fridge at all times. Sesame oil, garlic, peanut butter, honey, and jalapeño for bite. Goes with everything —> including this salad.
Hm? Oh, that. Just a little leftover sauce on my face.
I live for food like dis.
Spicy Peanut Chicken Soba Noodle Salad
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 1x
Description
This Spicy Peanut Chicken Soba Noodle Salad is loaded with flavor and tossed with a super quick spicy peanut sauce. Definitely a favorite! YUM!
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 each red, green, and yellow bell pepper
- 8.8 (250 grams) soba noodles
- fresh cilantro or basil to taste
For the Spicy Peanut Sauce
- 5 tablespoons peanut butter
- 5 tablespoons water
- 5 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- half of a jalapeño pepper
- 1/2 cup peanuts
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Place the chicken in the water and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred with your hands or with two forks. Set aside. Meanwhile, cut the bell peppers into very thin strips – it makes the salad extra awesome if they are thin and easy to wrap your fork around, almost like a little noodle.
- Puree all the ingredients for the Spicy Peanut Sauce in a food processor, adding the peanuts last so you can control how smooth the sauce will be (I like to leave some pieces of crushed peanut in the sauce).
- Cook the soba noodles according to package directions. Drain and toss with the chicken, veggies, fresh cilantro, and Spicy Peanut Sauce. Serve hot or cold – but I recommend cold! Yummay.
Notes
Nutrition information is for 10 servings.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 35
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Asian
Keywords: chicken soba noodle salad, soba noodle salad, peanut chicken soba noodle salad
I have a dishwasher…but it doesn’t work. SUCH A TEASE!
This is my new favorite salad in all the evers. A little spice, a little peanut sauce and SOBA NOODLES? I <3 them. Pinned!
Sorry about the dishwasher…..
My husband has been asking me to make a spicy peanut butter sauce now for years and I’ve never thought I’d be able to….and bam…this pops up!!
Sesame sauce, peanut butter (but it’s gotta be Peter Pan for me) and garlic….you cannot go wrong.
Like how I can substitute the basil for cilantro (not a cilantro fan I’m sorry to say) because you need that poppin’ green on top for the color.
And anything with colored peppers…….
Yes! This is great in the summer with those huge fresh basil leaves.
Also try the purple thai basil. Excellent flavor, works well with the peanut taste.
We live sans dishwasher because our flat is too small for one. I wish we had one though.
This salad looks amaze-balls! I haven’t had soba noodles in ages.
Dishwashers are dead easy to install. Knock out a cabinet near the sink, install dishwasher. The plumbing is laughably simple. Just go for it!
Not enough space in our tiny kitchen! I already have half of the kitchen stored downstairs… we really don’t have anywhere to put it. Oh well… something to look forward to in the next house! 🙂
This looks and sounds fantastic! Everything in this salad sounds delicious, love the sauce 🙂
Mmm, I love sauces like that! I make a similar one and put it on spaghetti squash when I’m trying to be good. But I’m totally craving noodles now.
A dishwasher? What’s that? We haven’t had a dishwasher in about 2 years. I reaaalllly do miss it though. Dishes pile up quickly and they always take forever to do.
This spicy peanut soba noodle salad looks amazing! Gotta give it a try.
Gosh I once had to replace my hot water heater. So for a few days not only did not have access to hot shower (beside at the gym once a day) but I had to wash dishes by hand with kettle boiled water. I feel your pain!
These look insanely delicious for a lunch time feast.
Look into free standing/rolling dishwashers….have had two at two different times in my life. The last time when I bought a 1918 era duplex with very little counter space and no dishwasher…it’s a win-win situation…you get a full size dishwasher and movable couner space.
This is all sorts of YUM. OMG. I neeeeed this in my life. Your recipes are so great – easy to follow, crowd-pleasing, and fun. And you’re probably one of the few blogs that I read all the context before skipping down to the recipe. Too funny!
Hahah – thanks Jess! 🙂
We made a few mistakes when buying our first houses. Our last house didn’t have a mailbox. Yeah, we moved in and watched the mailman drive by and never stop. Doh.
In our current house, since it’s old, it has a water pump to regulate pressure. Super noisy. Next time I buy a house, I will turn on the sink and listen for a noise!
Oh my goodness, so funny about the mailbox! 🙂
it might sound crazy but i have a dish washer at my apartment but i havent used it even once…i dont know but i prefer to hand wash it. i do run it every now and then just to clean it up. this peanut chicken soba is right up my alley..i cant get enough!
I don’t know what I would do without a dishwasher. Yet, I wash so many things by hand too. Love this noodle salad with homemade peanut sauce.
I am such a wimp – with the amount of dishes our family goes through, I would go crazy without a dishwasher! This dish looks amazing – I love quick and easy dishes that make a ton of food. And you can’t go wrong with chicken, soba noodles and peanut sauce!
I spent the majority of my adult life without a dishwasher. Just moved into an apartment with one about a year ago….my life was pretty much changed forever! Soba noodles + peanut sauce is one of my most favorite go-to weeknight dinner!
I have actually never tried soba noodles but have always wanted to! Where can you find them?
I was so surprised to find them at my regular grocery store, which just has a tiny little Asian foods section. They only had one brand, but they had them! 🙂 Yum!
THis might be strange;..what do soba noodles look like raw?? I keep buying this kind of translucent brown noodle at our local market here in China, and it cooks up to be less translucent brown….I’m not sure what it is called…perhaps they are similar. I’m trying to find out though…
They look to me like spaghetti. Not translucent though, those are usually rice noodles!
I just moved into an apartment with a dishwasher for the first time in years, but I’m so used to living without one, that I’m just not patient enough for it! I always have to use something again before there are enough dishes to do a load. So I’ve actually just been using it as a really big drying rack – is that weird?
On another note, this recipe speaks to me. I need it in my life, like now.
so sad about your dishwasher situation…i know the feeling since i have been married for almost ten years and have never had one either, so i totally feel your pain. i laughed at your emergency voice announcement about it, though! 🙂 good thing you have a positive outlook and you are an awesome cook, so that makes things seem so much better!
Oh my gosh – 10 years is a long time to live without a dishwasher! you rock!
Lindsay we were met by the same scenario while we were in India recently. Dishwasher was kind of on top on our list while searching for renting a place for few months but we ended up having no dishwasher. Now back and with dishwasher, I feel so much relaxed doing those occasional dishes by hand! Totally understand how you feel 🙂
This looks really good and it looks like something my husband would eat, which is a definite plus! I’m not sure if I missed it, but what kind of vinegar do you use in the peanut sauce? Rice Wine?
That is too funny about buying the house and not realizing it didn’t have a dishwasher, at least that is something you can always add later! We lived for about 3 years with no dishwasher and then we finally got one installed in our last apartment and I managed to break it in about 3 days, a month later our landlord finally fixed it and then I broke it again… We recently bought a house and we finally got a dishwasher that isn’t broken, but I still end up washing most dishes by hand because I’m convinced that I do a much better job than the dishwasher does, I do like to use it as a place to hide dirty dishes though!
I just used white distilled vinegar. I always forget to specify – I’ll go back and add that. 🙂
WOW-this looks SO Good! Totally feel for you about not having a dish-washer, and you made me laugh when you said you guys didn’t check, I wouldn’t have thought to check either! I definitely pinned this recipe to make because I’ve been looking for a good spicy peanut chicken recipe to try!
I remember being 8 years old and washing the dishes at my grandmother’s house. I hated washing dishes so much that I told her I would save my allowance to BUY her one so I didn’t have to do the dishes when I came to visit. Cheeky.
Do you have plans to install a dishwasher at some point?
I kind of wish I had not eaten lunch before I checked your blog. Spicy Peanut Chicken sounds so freaking yum!
Nope – no space for one! 🙂
This looks absolutely incredible. Like, drop everything, jump into the car and head to the grocery store to get all of the ingredients, incredible.
Our dishwasher died right after Christmas. We have to rip up half the kitchen to get it out so we are hand washing for now. Arg!! For me laundry is worse but dish washing is the close second.
That dern laundry. boooo
I feel your pain with the no dishwasher, but I also have no refrigerator in my kitchen. Seriously. We’re in the basement of a historic museum and instead of a refrigerator, we have an enormous fire sprinkler system for the whole house. I have to make several trips to my laundry room which houses the refrigerator.
Oh my gosh Jessica! I am not the only one doing weird things like this in my kitchen! That is crazy! Good for you for making it work. I bet your place is pretty cool being in such a historic building! 🙂