Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Spicy Chicken Noodles – It’s The Rice That Makes It Nice

The only downside to this beautiful, spicy chicken noodles recipe is that I’m now going to get even more requests for Pad Thai that I usually do. Which is understandable, since no matter what recipe they’re used in, rice noodles are a proven crowd-pleaser.

By the way, I’ll post a recipe for pad Thai just as soon as my version comes out at least as well as the worst restaurant example in town. I’m not quite there yet. In the meantime, we can all practice our rice noodle soaking technique. As I mentioned, check the package of noodles you buy, as the time will vary depending on the size of the noodle.

I think this dish is perfect for using up leftover chicken, assuming it wasn’t horribly overcooked in the first place. If you did want to use raw chicken, go ahead and chop it up, and stir-fry it for a minute or two, before adding your vegetables. Either way, I really hope you give this spicy chicken noodles recipe a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 2 large or 4 small portions:
8 ounces dry rice noodles, soaked in 6 cups of boiling, lightly salted water (drain and rinse before using)
8 ounces cooked chicken breast, torn
1 tablespoon sesame oil
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons hoisin
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 or 2 tablespoons Sriracha, or other hot sauce
1 teaspoon hot chili flakes
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
For the vegetables:
1 large carrot, finely sliced or shredded
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced
2 cups finely sliced green cabbage
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3 cloves garlic, finely crushed
1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro

21 comments:

Rosanna said...

Thank you so much!! I have been waiting patiently for this recipe!! I love that the sauce is so easy to assemble. I don't have to buy the jar sauce any more!

Civil Librarian said...

Chef John,

I suppose I don't need to ask for permission for things like this but...do you think this would taste OK without the cooking step? As I was typing this, I heard your comment at the very end of the video re: eating cold leftovers. But, since I'm already invested in asking you a question, what do you think about skipping the pan frying step all together and just assembling cold?

Many thanks for all the great meals you've allowed me cook for my wife!

Chris

Thom said...

Man, Pad Thai is elusive. After a trip to Thailand and watching the street food vendors make it, I thought I'd give it a shot. For the results, it made me realize what a great value it is to buy Pad Thai. Will try it again making some tweaks some day, but its a pretty laborious endeavor for mediocre results.

Phil said...

In my pursuit of a great Pad Thai recipe I've used a lot of rice noodles. For those who have never tried them before, they have a funky smell when you put them in water (at least all that I've ever used). If I were using them WITHOUT rinsing after cooking, I would rinse them before.
I'm making this recipe tomorrow. I'll post a pic to Chef Johns Twitter and let you know how it turns out.

Unknown said...

Great recipe Chef! I am going to try this coming weekend! Greetings from Suriname!

dzidziuś said...

As always great recipe! One question: You are using "seasoned rice wine" in quite a lot of recipes. In my local Asian stores there are few types of this product. Some are sweet, some are not, some even contain a little bit of alcohol. Could You please tell us more precisely what do You use and what should it taste like???

thanks

your biggest fun in eastern Europe - Poland ;)


Kuba

ewak said...

Hi chef John! I really enjoy your videos and possibly especially the puns. As a Swede I'd like it if you did a Swedish recipe for example Janssons frestelse which we always eat for Christmas/Easter/any holiday worth mentioning. It's basically a potato gratin with anchovy in it as well and it's delicious. Another more bizarre dish which I think is purely Swedish is our "sandwich cake". We're not very inventive in our naming so it's exactly what it sounds like. No need to publish this comment, I just couldn't find an email address for you. Have a nice day!

SFO La Crosse said...

Excellent recipe! I made it exactly like yours except for substituting nearly every vegetable except carrots and using curry marinated shrimp instead of chicken. Plus I made the whole thing on the grill bc I live in Wisconsin and have no AC. Otherwise exactly the same! Seriously the sauce and the technique were great, thanks.

Kathleen O'Nan said...

This looks wonderful and I'm looking forward to trying it! I see the list of lovely ingredients posted here. However, try as I might, I cannot find it at AllRecipes.com for the directions. Could you please post the URL so I can print the recipe and make it soon?

Thank you, Chef John. I appreciate and use your recipes so often. Tonight I am fixing your Roasted Balsamic Chicken with Baby Tomatoes - mmmmm!

Unknown said...

Made this yesterday, and it was pretty darn good. Thanks C.J.

marim said...

is there somewhere you post the complete written recipe or just the ingredients like I found here? I always watch your videos just for fun but now i'd like to try some of your recipes and can't seem to find them on a written format!

Unknown said...

I made this for dinner for my wife and I. There were no leftovers. I adjusted the spice level a little and it came out perfect. First time using rice noddles. I like them and cooking them is easy. I have used some other recipes from Chef John and they were all good. Thanks Tom

Bandalo said...

Just made this one tonight, and it's excellent. Sadly this will cut into the business of my local Thai place, since this is what I always ordered.

Steve Kennedy said...

I made this with shrimp instead of chicken. Seared the shrimp for about 2 min. before I cooked the vegies. I got a little heavy handed with the heat, whenI make it again, I will back that down a bit. You usually under spice a little for my taste, but next time I am going to use the amount you say.

Unknown said...

My god, so many ingredients goes to Chicken Noodle...

Don Wallace said...

I just made this. Some comments: The rice noodle quantity (8 oz.) is gross overkill in my opinion for the stated 2 large or 4 small (really average sized) servings. I selected the fettucine shaped rice noodles and I measured them by weight, and I reckon the dish would have been fine with 2/3 of the noodles called for in the recipe. The recommended hydration time for the noodles in boiling water was 8-10 minutes and even after that soak they were still quite hard and chewy, well beyond "al dente". I found that simmering the dish with the noodles did soften them acceptably, though. I used Oyster Sauce I had already, and the seasoning was still fine. I didn't use chili flakes and the resulting dish was mildly spicy. I substituted white wine vinegar for the rice vinegar. Lastly, this is not a quick and easy meal... it's a bit of a mise en place exercise and one of your more complicated recipes. I'm not complaining at all... it's just some work to make.

Unknown said...

It looks like something to make into egg rolls or serve in lettuce wraps

Unknown said...

This recipe is fantastic. I agree with some of the other posters saying this makes quite a large amount for two people, I reduced the recipe by half and found that much more manageable for two. It's also much better fresh IMO, so I prefer to make it in smaller batches instead of having loads of leftovers.

I modified it slightly to reduce the oil and spice (I love you John but you're too spicy/oily for my blood!) and substituted the ketchup for tomato paste, (thinned the paste with a little water until it reached ketchup-consistency) and it's still incredible. Give this a try you won't be sorry!

To the other posters wondering about seasoned rice vinegar, I found some at my local grocery store in the international food section. It's exactly like normal rice vinegar except with a little sugar and salt added, so you could likely just use rice vinegar and add a little more salt/sugar to substitute. Not sure on the exact amounts, however.

This recipe is now in my permanent rotation, and is my go-to recipe for weekends when I'm craving take-out! I can't thank you enough for this recipe!

Shinnam said...

Nice work,
Cheif John, do yuu have a Luang Prabang salad recipe?

Unknown said...

This was sooo yummy. Found all the ingredients at my local Asian market. Had never used rice noodles before! Mine soaked an hour in warm water and turned out great! I prepped everything ahead of time (done in the time it took to soak the noodles) and brought it to a friend's. Was so easy and impressive! Served with some sushi and kimchi. 3 happy tummies with plenty leftover. Thanks Chef John, I'm such a fan. Keep doing what you're doing!

CVM said...

I have to start by thanking Chef John, again! I had leftover rotisserie chicken, the dark meat, that I had in the freezer. I thawed it out and braised it in chicken stock to remove it from the bones. I doubled Chef John's sauce recipe, which I followed to the letter. For the noodles I used Korean sweet potato noodles, which I soaked in boiling hot water for ten minutes. For the veggies I used red bell pepper, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. After sauteing until tender, I added one half of Chef John's sauce, thickening it with a little corn starch and some of the sauce. After the noodles were tender, I fried them in sesame oil, and added the remaining sauce when they were done. That's it! My best, ever stir fry....thanks to you John!