Pad Thai Chicken Noodle

I never thought to use linguine instead of rice noodles in an asian dish before but this works really well.  I used it initially because I had everything else in my pantry and didn't want to go to the store just for pad thai rice noodles when this could work just as well.  The pasta gives it a slightly heavier feeling but when you use cabbage and a lot of veggies you can really limit the amount of pasta you need.  Of course you could use gluten free pasta if you wish but then you may as well find rice noodles!  Spaghetti squash for those really 'off' pasta. 

I have done this a few different ways in the past, using the slow cooker to cook the chicken while I've been at after school activities with the girls or quickly poaching it in chicken stock for 10-12mins and then shredding it.  Either way works just fine but the point is, poach it in liquid for a moist, soft texture then shred to chunky bite size pieces ready to toss into the dish when you're ready to eat.  You can have the chicken and the sauce all prepared earlier in the day ready to quickly pull it together in the evening.

The girls didn't think they'd like this but after a few mouthfuls, they realized there weren't any real surprises and it went down well.  You can always substitute the vegetables you think you're children would prefer, grated zucchini is always a good one to sneak in as it is almost undetectable in a dish like this.  

Ingredients:

poached chicken:
3 chicken breasts, (cut into 3 pieces per breast)
1/2 can coconut milk
2 tblspn peanut butter
2 tblpsn soy sauce
1 teaspoon sriarcha
200ml chicken stock

peanut oil
3 spring onions
2/3 cup of grated carrot
1/4 green cabbage, finely sliced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
linguine
1/4 cup toasted peanuts, crushed as garnish

pad thai sauce
2 tblpsn peanut butter
1/2 can coconut milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
tamarind paste, 1 tspn
1 tblpsn fish sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Method:

• place the 'poached chicken' ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for 2-3 hrs until you can  shred the chicken using two forks (or poach the chicken in a saucepan in chicken stock and reduced amount of other ingredients)
• start cooking pasta in salted water
• add oil to pan and heat
• add spring onions and sauté briefly before adding the cabbage
• pour a few splashes of chicken stock to help wilt the cabbage
• add the red pepper and carrot and continue to sauté 
• add the shredded chicken and warm through
• combine all the sauce ingredients together, heat it in a saucepan (or microwave jar) for a few minutes to ensure the peanut butter incorporates into the liquid.
• once the pasta is cooked to al dente, drain and add to the pan and then pour in the sauce
• stir through until the noodles and chicken are tossed well and coated in the sauce
• serve with a garnish of cilantro and crushed peanuts, add extra sriarcha if you like a little more spice.