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This recipe is going in my regular dinner rotation!! It is so easy and so delicious.
Zoe
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The Meal I Didn’t Know I Needed.
Well, that was tasty.
What you’re looking at is a a bowl of caramelized peanut chicken, on a tangled bed of vermicelli noodles, with some herbs and cucumber salad, topped with more of that peanut sauce.
After what has felt like a kind of long rut of post-holiday life / overwhelm / meh cooking, my first bite of this just woke me up inside. It revived me in just the right way.
Second of all, and related – have you seen the Trader Joe’s Peanut Satay Sauce? It’s your ticket to making this stupidly easy. It’s delicious, thick, creamy, and mild enough for 4 out of 4 of our little Scandinavian family to love it. You should buy a jar and make this (and this too!).
If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby, try this peanut sauce instead! I use it in a similar way with tofu and I think it would be absolutely perfect here. The sesame oil in there is chef’s kiss delicious.
And no surprise, I’m still loving and using these PFAS-free nonstick pans, and they work really well in this recipe.
January is not really anyone’s favorite (is it anyone’s favorite)? but you know what? We have noodles. We have caramelized bites of chicken. We have fresh mint, little jars of sauce, and flavor joy.
Let’s have a big bowl of noodles / chicken / peanut sauce / salad and remember that we’re going to be okay.
How To Make These Bowls (Video)
Thai Peanut Chicken Bowls
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
Description
I love a shortcut dinner hack! These bowls feature caramelized peanut chicken, a tangle of vermicelli noodles, fresh herbs and cucumber salad, and peanut sauce all over top.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into thin slices
- 8-ounce jar Thai peanut satay sauce (from Trader Joe’s)
- 1 clove grated garlic
Cucumber Salad
- 2 cups thinly sliced cucumber (1 large English cucumber)
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion (about 1/4 an onion)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- salt and sugar to taste
Noodles and Toppers
- 4 ounces vermicelli noodles
- a few tablespoons of crushed peanuts
- a few sprigs of herbs – I like mint, cilantro, and basil because I’m an herb hog!
Instructions
- Marinate the Chicken: Marinate the chicken with half the jar of sauce and the garlic for about 30 minutes to an hour.
- Cucumber Salad: Meanwhile, toss the cucumbers, onions, oil, vinegar, salt and sugar together.
- Cook the Chicken: Heat a small amount of oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat; add chicken, let it sit undisturbed for a few minutes to caramelize, then flip and repeat until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown. To caramelize it further, you can add a pinch of sugar towards the end.
- Make a Bowl: Serve the chicken over rice noodles, with some of the cucumber salad, fresh herbs, and peanuts.
- Sauce: Using your remaining sauce, add a bit of water, soy sauce, or chili oil to the jar to thin it out into more of a dressing. Drizzle over the bowls and dive into that.
Notes
If you don’t have access to a Trader Joe’s to buy the peanut satay sauce, try this peanut sauce instead! Use about 1/3 cup to marinate the chicken in step 1, and then 1/3 cup to dilute into the dressing in step 5!
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Thai
Keywords: satay sauce, thai peanut sauce, peanut sauce, peanut noodles, chicken
Delicious! Easy Friday night “take-out” copycat dinner! Huge raves from both my husband and myself! I used the “Rice Ramen” noodles I found at Costco, but they are also on Amazon. Yummm.
Would tuna or cod fillets work with this instead of chicken?
So so yum!!
I made this for dinner tonight and loved it!!!! I used udon noodles because that’s what I had as well as a memories of Szechuan peanut satay sauce. This was such a nice quick and easy dinner and I’m so glad I finally made it! Thanks, as always, for a wonderful recipe!
Another winner. I did a hybrid – used the packaged satay sauce (not trader joe’s, another one) for the marinade and cooking and made the recommended peanut sauce for drizzling. My kids didn’t love the tiny vermicelli; so I would do this with a fatter rice noodle next time, but otherwise, excellent!
Made it tonight and this was delicious! Thank you!
Hi! What’s the spice level from 1-10? I don’t like spicy foods… thanks!
Just made this. It was fantastic! So quick and easy and delicious! Will be making often!!!!
So easy and delicious! My whole family loves it and requests it often.
Made this and really liked it. Had to sub a couple things but the recipe is pretty forgiving. I am thankful for the oil/vinegar dressing recipe as I’ve been trying to match the one I like from our favorite Thai restaurant – got really close!. I used Bangkok Peanut dipping sauce and, since we don’t like cukes, substituted the centers of hearts of romaine lettace sliced very thin. The crunch and coolness worked really well. Raided the cupboard for 2 packages of Ramen noodles – threw away the seasoning packets. This recipe is a keeper – thanks!
Hey! I am looking for recipes to prep and freeze. Could I freeze the raw chicken in the marinade for an easy grab and cook weeknight meal?
We haven’t tested that, but should work fine!
love your recipes but I cannot get the ads to stop playing to view your videos
Can we prepare the items and then assemble later? When assembled, how long does it last in fridge?
Yep! And will last 3 to 4 days in refrigerator.
“Dang mom!” Heard from my 14 year old 🙂 Made this for my family of 5 and they all loved it. I used cucumber and red bell pepper (no red onion). Used only cilantro as that was all I had (no mint or basil) It was delicious. May add chili flakes next time for some spice!
I love this recipe sooooo much. Have made it a bunch, so here are my tips: I cook the chicken thighs whole and cut into strips after. I find they caramelize better that way and less fussing with raw chicken! Then to stretch the sauce, I add fish sauce, lime juice, sriracha, and water to the jar. And lastly, we love fresh sliced jalapeño on top!
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I made this tonight for dinner! OMG this was literally so easy and delicious! I made it just as you suggested only used the Thai Wheat Noodles from TJs and added a few sesame seeds to the cucumber salad. This is a 10 out of 10 recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I made this last night and it was SO yummy!! I used chicken thighs, which I think are always tastier than chicken breasts. My little ones gobbled it up and my husband and I both had second plates!
Thank you!
Excited to try this! Any ideas on how to best make this with rotisserie chicken when in a real pinch?
This was absolutely delicious. I’m Canadian a when I was in the US recently I picked up the sauce from trader joes bc we don’t have it here. I added some bok choy after removing the chicken from the pan and it soaked up the remaining juices. Wouldn’t change a thing. Your recipes are always fantastic. Thank you!!!
Looks delicious and my daughter-in-law made it and highly recommended it and she is an excellent cook.
This was so easy and so good!! Perfect weeknight meal.
Really good! Super tasty. Even my son ate up all the cucumber salad and said the chicken was “pretty good”. Will be yet another repeat recipe in our house
SO GOOD! Takes way more than 45 minutes, but worth it!