Chicken pad Thai

PersonalPoints™

per serving

Total Time: 47 min

Prep: 25 min

Cook: 22 min

Serves: 6

Moderate

Here's a traditionally prepared Thai classic. It has the same crunchy textures and balance of umami, sweet, and sour flavors, that people love about this celebrated Asian street food. It's also great with shrimp or cubed tofu instead of chicken. To prevent mushy noodles, check on them while they soak and remove them from the cold water once they become slightly chewy. You’ll preserve their texture, since they’ll absorb even more liquid when they’re stir-fried. You can use either red or green Thai chili peppers but be sure to handle them as little as possible. Since the heat from the seeds can linger on your skin, be careful not to touch your eyes until after you’ve washed your hands with soap and warm water.

Ingredients:

7 oz packaged rice noodles
1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
¼ cup fish sauce, divided
4 cups uncooked broccoli, florets
1 medium uncooked carrot, finely sliced
¼ cup fresh lime juice, divided
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp water
1½ tsp ginger root, fresh, finely minced
2 sprays cooking spray
4 tsp peanut oil, divided
1 tsp green hot chile pepper, or red chili pepper, Thai-variety, deveined, seeded, minced
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1½ cups uncooked bean sprouts
2½ oz peanuts, dry-roasted, salted, minced (about 1/2 cup)
½ cup cilantro, fresh, minced

Instructions

Soak noodles in cold water for 1 hour.
Place chicken in a small bowl and cover with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce; set aside.
Steam broccoli and carrot until crisp-tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately immerse in cold water; drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, in another small bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, 3 tablespoons of lime juice, sugar, water, and ginger; mix well and set aside.
Coat a large wok or skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat; add 2 teaspoons of oil. When hot, add the chicken; cook, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and cover to keep warm; set aside.
Drain noodles thoroughly. Off heat, coat same wok or skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat; add remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. When hot, sauté chili pepper and garlic until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add noodles and fish sauce mixture; cook, stirring, until sauce is mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes. Stir in chicken and peanuts; remove from heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of lime juice, bean sprouts, and cilantro; mix well. Serve immediately.
Serving Size: about 2 cups.