Thai Flat Noodles with Chicken

My husband introduced me to Thai cuisine a couple of years ago. He took me a renowned Thai restaurant in the suburbs – his favorite then - as I wanted to give Thai food a try. I must confess, I am not someone closed to new things....especially when it comes down to food...but then I had a set of preconceived notions from the reviews I’d read about Thai food. I realized that either people loved it or hated for numerous reasons - it’s too spicy, it’s overloaded with coconut, too greasy, at times too sweet and or it has an overpowering smell of fish sauce. Interestingly the perspectives of most reviewers were based loosely around all of these factors.

Astonishing and contrary to my belief, it took me a while before I became an ardent fan of Thai food. Not that I didn’t enjoy it the first few times, but in retrospection, may be the coconut, tamarind and turmeric made me feel more close to eating a regular home cooked meal or may be I was too overwhelmed by the reviews. Well, now that I have “evolved” :-) I can admit that it’s been nothing short of a ‘tradition’ to visit a Thai place at least once every month. Thanks Hun for getting me hooked on to Thai food! No matter how many times we’ve eaten Thai food already, I‘ll always relish it! And I'll forever love you for it.

My husband has a few favorites: Panang Gai, Thai Flat noodles and Pad Thai and I’ve observed that he’s happy to choose from among the three. I however, have been trying different things each time, just to savor the assortment of flavors that Thai cuisine has to offer. After a few visits, I told myself that there must be something in the Thai Flat noodles that makes him eat it time and again. So, I decided to go for it. Loaded with red peppers, crushed peanuts, bean sprouts and chicken tossed in soft flat noodles and cooked to perfection, it was fabulous. The nutty taste of the peanuts came together wonderful with the heat from the red peppers, the crunch from the sprouts and the tang of sesame oil. Too good to say NO to? You bet.

Not long after I began introducing my friends to the Thai Flat noodles at this place, preaching that it was “Alright to drive a good 35 miles one way to eat because this flat noodles is really worth the drive”, the restaurant relocated due to change in management…a bummer .....definitely!!! Sadly, my acquired fondness for the Thai Flat noodles made me hunt for alternatives. That’s when I began browsing aisles at grocery stores that carry Thai ingredients and produce. After a zillion experiments , a thousand protocols, one hundred abortive attempts and tens (or should I say tons) of dull outcomes…I was able to figure out a undemanding recipe to make Thai Flat noodles to gratify my longing. Its been a year now since our favorite Thai place relocated out of town, to cherish its memory I decided to include this on my chronicles for the week. So here it is from my Thai experimental log to yours….

Choc-tee!

Ingredients

1 cup wide Thai rice noodles

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

½ cup green onions (julienned)

½ cup Bean Sprouts

½ cup Red Peppers (julienned)

2 tablespoon sesame oil

¼ cup crushed peanuts

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon of finely chopped Thai Chili peppers

Salt to taste

Marinade

½ tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon of finely chopped Thai Chili peppers

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 tablesppoon of fish sauce

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 ½ cups chicken thighs ( boneless, skinless) and cut into ½ “ cubes

Method

Add all ingredients for marinade into a zip top bag. Mix contents well so that the chicken is evenly coated. Set aside at room temperature for an hour. Cook noodles (I use the method specified on the package) till soft in warm water. Add a drop of oil and salt while cooking the noodles to prevent each noodle from sticking to another. Drain out water and toss the noodles into ice cold water to prevent further cooking. Heat sesame oil (350F) in a wok, add the Thai Chili peppers and marinated chicken. Stir fry till done. Now add beaten egg and scramble. Next throw in the veggies and the sauces, sauté till done. Add salt to taste, mix in the noodles.

Finally add crushed peanuts, toss well and cook for 2-3 min. Serve hot.

Note

For all you Basil lovers, toss in a few fresh basil leaves along with other veggies and stir fry. For those of you with nut allergies, avoid peanuts and add ¼ cup of crushed manchow style noodles (fried). Veggie lovers can substitute chicken with Tofu or bean curd.