Gluten Free Rice Noodle Stir Fry in a Peanut Sauce

I love this stir fry recipe because it has big flavour with relatively few ingredients.  When I have time I make my own peanut sauce, but more often than not I just use a good bottled Thai peanut sauce and modify it to taste the way I like.  Thai Kitchen (Simply Thai in the United States) and San-J have gluten free peanut sauces that taste great, although please remember to always check labels, as recipes change.  I like the peanut flavour to be the dominant flavour so I add a few tablespoons of peanut butter to the mixture. 

Ingredients:
Serves 4

400 g (or 1 package) thick rice noodles (think fettuccine, not spaghetti)
2 tbsp. oil (sesame or olive)
2 chicken breasts, cubed into bite sized pieces
1 cup peas
1 cup grated or sliced carrots
1 cup peanut sauce
2 tbsp. peanut butter
1 cup water (reserved from noodle cooking water)
S & P to taste
crushed peanuts for serving (optional)


Directions:

1- Prepare noodles according to package directions.  Prepare the rest of the stir fry in the meantime.

2- Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium heat, and add chicken.  When cooked through, add peanut sauce, peas & carrots.  Reduce heat to min. to simmer.

3- When noodles are finished cooking, reserve a cup of liquid before draining.  Drain but don't rinse noodles.  Add noodles directly to pan with stir fry ingredients and stir to incorporate.

4- Add peanut butter and starchy water and stir.  Let sauce thicken, approx. 5 minutes.  Taste, and add any seasonings (salt and pepper).  Serve immediately.

For garnish, top with ground peanuts or freshly picked parsley or Thai basil leaves.

A quick dinner that is perfect for nights when you don't feel like cooking