Try this Thai Chicken Pasta Salad recipe, or contribute your own.
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 4 cups water
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
- 1 (2 1/4) pound deli-roasted chicken
- 2 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodles
- 3/4 cup reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup light coconut milk
- 1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro
- 1 small seedless cucumber peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 6 green onions thinly sliced
- Carbohydrate 33.4166650095201 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 15.8455075080567 g
- Fiber 5.67544170170598 g
- Protein 10.4912700061844 g
- Saturated Fat 7.05737583469774 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (466g)
- Sodium 752.383667979591 mg
- Sugar 27.7412233078141 g
- Trans Fat 1.27931916735754 g
- Calories 298 calories
Step-by-step
- Remove and discard skin and bones from chicken.
- Cut chicken into strips.
- In a medium saucepan bring water to boiling.
- Break up each package of noodles (discard seasoning packets or save for another use).
- Add ramen noodles to boiling water.
- Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
Peanut butter resists direct emulsification with watery liquids like lime juice and coconut milk without mechanical assistance. Whisking the fat-dense peanut butter with the acidic lime juice creates a temporary suspension that requires gradual thinning by coconut milk to stabilize the dressing. Acid acts as a structural solvent here, cutting through the heavy saturated fats of the peanut butter while simultaneously denaturing the proteins in the deli-roasted chicken upon contact, which alters their surface texture. Starching the boiling water with broken ramen noodles releases amylose molecules that thicken the residual cooking liquid slightly, helping coat the noodles evenly when drained.
Executing this dish efficiently requires parallel staging. Boiling the water while simultaneously stripping skin and bones from the 2.25-pound chicken ensures the noodles steep off the heat for precisely five minutes without oversoftening. Seed the red bell pepper and peel the cucumber before mixing to prevent excess surface moisture from diluting the dressing viscosity.
Substituting toasted cashew butter for peanut butter alters the fat profile significantly, requiring a 1:1 replacement ratio by volume.
