I held my breath when I watched my picky six-year-old take his first bite of this dish. It was risky, what with all the broccoli, carrots, onions, AND garlic! Fortunately, without too much investigating (because he was quite hungry), he ate, and ate, and ate it all!
This is a wonderfully satisfying dinner, as it's full of vegetables, chicken, and a rich, creamy peanut sauce. Delicious! It's quick and easy to prepare to boot!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock or broth
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely sliced onion
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 1/4 cup grated carrots
- 1 1/4 cup finely chopped broccoli
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
Preparation:
Serves 4
In a medium-sized saute pan, bring the stock or broth to a boil. Reduce to low, season the chicken with salt and pepper, and add it to the pan. Cover and simmer until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Turn the chicken halfway through the cooking process. When it's done, reserve the cooking liquid, and cut the chicken into strips.
While the chicken is cooking, in medium-sized saute pan, cook the onion and garlic in the oil over medium heat. Saute until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and broccoli and continue to cook for about 10 minutes. Add the soy sauce, peanut butter, orange juice, honey, remaining cooking liquid from the chicken, and stir to combine. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the sauce is hot. Season to taste with salt and pepper, turn off the heat, and set aside.
In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the rice noodles until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and add them to the sauce, along with the chicken. Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts.
Some additional notes:
To save time, you can buy grated carrots in most markets. Ditto on the minced garlic!
You can find rice noodles in Asian markets and in most Asian sections of larger supermarkets. You could also use angel hair pasta, but rice is perfect if you want to go gluten-free!
If there is a peanut allergy in your family, you can make this recipe using sunflower seed butter and skip adding the peanuts on top. It's great that way, too!
