Peanut Noodles

I've been getting tired of the same old meals and since kickball is done I thought I would branch out. I had a craving for some kind of dish with a peanut sauce. So, I looked on http://www.epicurious.com and found a recipe they call Soba with Chicken and Peanut Sauce. The recipe looked a little basic to me to I added tons veggies and some extra additions of my own.

Ingredients

1 pound chicken cutlets or tenders

10 oz package soba or buckwheat noodles

1 small head of broccoli

1 bunch of pea pods

garlic

ginger

2 carrots peeled and cut

2 TBL oil

Sauce

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)

1/4 cup soy sauce, maybe less

1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil

2 teaspoons Chinese chili garlic paste (preferably Lan Chi) or Sriracha (Southeast Asian chili sauce) plus additional for serving

1-2 TBL of lemon juice

Toppings

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1 cup of peanuts

Preparation

Cut chicken into 1/2-inch-wide strips, then cook in a 5- to 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer chicken with a slotted spoon to a bowl (drain any excess liquid), reserving water in pot. Return water to a boil, then cook noodles, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 4 to 8 minutes. Reserve 3/4 cup noodle-cooking water and drain noodles in a colander. Rinse noodles under cold water to stop cooking, then drain well. While noodles are cooking saute broccoli, pea pods, carrots, garlic and ginger in oil. Whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, and reserved cooking water until smooth. Divide noodles among large serving bowls. Spoon about 1/4 cup peanut sauce over noodles in each bowl, then divide chicken, veggie saute, scallions and peanuts among bowls. Serve immediately with remaining sauce and additional chili paste. Stir noodles just before eating.