RECIPE: Peanut and Lime Asian Noodle Salad

Soup and salad night is usually met with a groan from my daughter and I. We do soup and salad night weekly, and it keeps us healthy and gives our systems a break for a night. It's usually pretty basic and easy (ahem, boring.) But sometimes we kick it up a little, while still keeping it light and flavorful. SO this week we had a Thai-Asian flare to our soup and salad night. Definitely less groaning this week.

This salad was a bit more labor intensive than just tossing things in a bowl and adding dressing. You can cut time by prepping the chicken, dressing and the noodles ahead of time. Then just assemble the salad the night you plan on eating it.


Peanut and Lime Asian Noodle Salad

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

½ cup canola oil
1 Tbsp. Mirin
1 large cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 1/2 Tbsp. lemongrass
juice of 1 1/2 limes (approx 1 1/2 Tbsp.)
¼ cup creamy peanut butter

For the salad:

8-10 ounces ramen noodles or rice noodles, cooked according to package directions, drained and cooled

1/2 cup baby corn, chopped

2 Tbsp. peanut oil, divided

1  boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks

2 1/2  cups baby kale, torn up

2 1/2 cups spinach, torn up

2 large carrots, cut into small, thin sticks

1 red bell pepper, cut into small, thin sticks

1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves, chopped

4 green onions, green parts only, chopped

½ cup peanuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

Whisk all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl EXCEPT peanut butter. Place the chicken in a plastic bag and use about ¼ to ½ cup of the dressing (without peanut butter) to marinate the chicken in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes. Add the peanut butter to the dressing and whisk, then taste and adjust. Set aside.

Prep all your vegetables and toss together in a salad bowl. Set aside.

Heat 1 Tbsp. peanut oil in a sauté pan. Add the marinated chicken for 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Rest chicken for 5-10 minutes, then add to the veggies. Return the pan to the stove and heat the other Tbsp. oil in the pan and add the noodles. Splash a little water to loosen the noodles and a little dressing and toss them around until they are soft and well seasoned. Take off heat and let cool.

Toss stir-fried noodles with the chicken and veggie mixture. Toss with dressing. Top with peanuts and cilantro. Serve warm or cold.