Peanut Lime Chicken Stir-Fry with Rice Noodles
Thin slices of chicken breast stir-fried with rice noodles in a glossy peanut, soy and lime sauce. Savory, bright and on the table in under twenty minutes.
- Total
- 18 min
- Prep 7 · Cook 11
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Stir-frying · Emulsifying
- Savory
- Quick
- Asian
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Boil the large pot of water for the noodles. While it heats, slice the chicken breast across the grain into 5 mm strips and season with 0.25 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper.
~4 min
Salting chicken ahead seasons the meat and helps it hold moisture, while cross-grain slicing shortens muscle fibers for tenderness.
Pat the chicken strips dry before seasoning: surface moisture steams the meat and you lose the deep browning that gives this sauce its savory backbone.
-
In the small bowl, whisk the peanut butter, soy sauce, 60 ml water and the juice of the lime into a smooth glossy sauce.
~2 min
Whisking peanut butter with water and lime juice emulsifies the fat into a smooth sauce instead of a grainy, separated paste.
Emulsifying Whisk the peanut butter and water vigorously until glossy and uniform. If it looks grainy, add water a splash at a time while whisking.
-
Drop the rice noodles into the boiling water and cook until just tender but still springy, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
~4 min
Cooking noodles just to al dente keeps them springy so they don't turn mushy when tossed in the hot sauce.
-
While step 3 cooks
While the noodles cook, heat the vegetable oil in the large pan over high heat until it shimmers. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes, then stir-fry until browned and cooked through to 74C, about 2 more minutes.
~2 min
High heat and an undisturbed single layer let the chicken brown through the Maillard reaction before it steams.
Stir-frying Keep the pan screaming hot and don't crowd the chicken; stir only after it releases. Crowding steams the meat and you lose the browned crust.
-
Pour the peanut lime sauce into the pan with the chicken. Let it bubble and thicken for 1 minute, scraping up the browned bits.
~1 min
Simmering the sauce lets water evaporate so it thickens into a glaze that clings instead of pooling.
If the peanut sauce seizes when it hits the pan, pull the pan off the heat and whisk in a splash more water until it loosens back into a glaze.
-
Add the drained rice noodles and toss for 1 minute until every strand is coated and hot. Serve straight away.
~1 min
Stir-frying Keep the pan screaming hot and don't crowd the chicken; stir only after it releases. Crowding steams the meat and you lose the browned crust.