This savory peanut butter and soy pasta dish is an easy way to make your own take out at home.
PREP TIME 10 minutesminutes
COOK TIME 1 hourhour
TOTAL TIME 1 hourhour10 minutesminutes
YIELD 6servings
Ingredients
For the honey garlic chicken:
3poundsboneless skinless chicken thighs
3tablespoonsolive oil
3tablespoonssoy sauce
5tablespoonshoney
2teaspoonsminced garlic
1/2teaspoonginger
For the peanut butter pasta:
1(16 oz.) box whole grain thin spaghetti
1/2cuppeanut butter
1/4cupsoy sauce
2teaspoonsminced garlic
healthy sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2cupreserved pasta cooking water
For the slaw salad:
1/2fresh red bell peppersliced very thinly
1/4cupchopped fresh cilantro
1/4cupsliced green onions
1/2cupraw red & green cabbage mixsliced thinly like slaw
1/4cupgrated carrots
OR–I found an awesome Asian Slaw mix in my produce aisle that had a mix of everything listed but the red pepper. I just used 2 big handfuls of that. Take a look, you might be surprised what you find to save time.
Instructions
Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Marinate and Bake the Chicken:
Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over the chicken. Toss to coat. You can do this earlier in the day and let it marinate or do it just before popping in the oven. I’ve done both and it worked just fine.
Bake the chicken at 425°F for 50 minutes. Turn it 3 times (after 25 min., another 15, another 10) during cooking so that it gets nice and caramelized by the heat. My family fights over the crunchy bits!
Boil the Pasta:
While the chicken is baking, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. Be sure to reserve a good cup or two of the cooking water before you drain the noodles.
Prepare the Peanut Butter Pasta Sauce:
Whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside for tossing. The peanut butter mixture will be insanely thick until you add the pasta water. It will come together nicely with the bit of heat the pasta water gives it. Add more or less water to get the consistency you prefer.
Assemble:
When the pasta is done, reserve the water you need, drain and place in a large bowl.
Whisk the pasta water into the pasta sauce bowl. Toss the finished sauce with the noodles to combine.
Toss the prepped raw veggies in with the warm noodles. The heat of the pasta will just SLIGHTLY wilt them a bit but they will still be full of crunch. OR you can put the veggies in a separate bowl and let your family add just what they want to their mix–the much more popular method for my girls.
Cut or shred the chicken. You can toss it in with the pasta or serve it on top.
Recipe Notes
Storage/Leftovers:Be warned, the pasta will get very dry when left to soak up the peanut butter sauce overnight. If you serve the veggies as separate mix-ins at the table, you will be able to store the pasta alone with just a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water laying at the bottom of the container. When you want to eat the leftovers, simply reheat the noodles in the microwave and the water will turn to steam and rehydrate the noodle sauce after a good toss.The chicken and veggies will store perfectly if kept separate. Just assemble your leftovers as needed.