Quick and Healthy Peanut Chicken Soba Noodles
Healthy Peanut Chicken Soba Noodles Recipe with bell peppers, kale and delicious sauce. 30 minute dinner idea your husband and kids will actually eat.
Healthy Peanut Chicken Soba Noodles Recipe with bell peppers, kale and delicious sauce. 30 minute dinner idea your husband and kids will actually eat.
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 large garlic cloves crushed
- 3 green onion sprigs chopped
- 1/2 cup soy sauce low sodium
- 2 tbsp peanut butter unsalted
- 6 oz soba noodles (brown rice noodles would work too)
- 1.5 lbs boneless & skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
- 2 large bell peppers cut into thin strips
- 4 cups kale, coarsely chopped & packed
- 1/2 cup peanuts unsalted
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
- Carbohydrate 26.5656025210672 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 11.3906940988416 g
- Fiber 7.67265372460814 g
- Protein 14.1040444930204 g
- Saturated Fat 1.64377043624608 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (583g)
- Sodium 32.7333394162883 mg
- Sugar 18.8929487964591 g
- Trans Fat 0.841879331349951 g
- Calories 234 calories
Step-by-step
- Bring medium pot, filled half with water, to a boil. In the meanwhile, get all ingredients ready, most importantly, cut the chicken, chop vegetables and measure peanuts. In a medium bowl, whisk Sauce Ingredients and set aside.
- Add soba noodles to a pot with boiling water and cook for 2 - 3 minutes or al dente, stirring constantly and making sure the noodles do not stick. Reserve about a cup of noodles' water (starchy water is great for diluting the sauce), transfer noodles to a colander, rinse with cold water and leave to drain.
- Preheat non-stick wok or large deep skillet on high heat and add chicken. Cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally. This should take about 10 minutes (depending how much water your chicken contains). Add 1/3 of prepared Sauce and stir constantly for a minute or until sauce thickens and coats the meat. Remove from heat and transfer a bowl. Set aside.
- Rinse and dry wok/skillet and return to the stove, on high heat. Add bell peppers and stir fry until fragrant and some peppers are golden brown, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and add kale, soba noodles, chicken and remaining sauce. Stir gently until mixed, about a minute and remove from heat. Sauce will thicken as it warms up. If noodles absorb too much sauce, add some reserved noodles' water. Add peanuts, green onions and red peppers flakes. Serve hot.
Scaling Quantities and Managing Yields
Multiplying this recipe to serve larger groups demands attention to skillet capacity and heat retention. Overcrowding a standard wok or skillet lowers the cooking surface temperature, causing the sliced chicken breasts to release moisture rather than developing a golden brown exterior. Searing the chicken in batches takes slightly longer but guarantees proper protein browning and prevents pooling liquids. When doubling the sauce, cornstarch acts as the thickening agent, requiring active whisking as it heats to distribute starches evenly without forming lumps. If halving the components, reduce the low-sodium soy sauce and peanut butter proportionally while maintaining the ratio of rice vinegar to balance the salinity.
Storage and Reheating Dynamics
Leftovers stored in airtight containers require specific handling to maintain vegetable crispness and noodle integrity over a three-day refrigeration window. Reheating the dish directly in a hot skillet with a splash of reserved water revives the sauce emulsion that separates during cold storage. Microwave reheating should occur in short intervals with intermittent stirring to distribute heat evenly through the denser chicken pieces and prevent the kale from overcooking into a muted green state.
