Guest Post: Spicy Peanut Chicken and Cucumber Cold Noodles

Mattster Chef is back on the blog! Tonight, Matt will be writing about one of our easy weeknight meals.

It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything for Our Happy Jar, and April wanted me to post this recipe because it’s one of our favourite cold noodle dishes and also super easy to make.

Spicy Peanut Chicken and Cucumber Cold Noodles

It tastes better than it looks!

 Ingredients (Makes 4 servings)

• 1 package of spaghetti or noodles
• 2 pieces of chicken breast (cut into small pieces)
• 1 English cucumber (julienned)
• 4 tablespoons of natural peanut butter (crunchy)
• 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce + ½ tablespoon to marinate chicken
• ½ tablespoon of dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil (split into halves)
• Chili oil to taste
• Water (varies)

Directions

1. The first thing to do is cut up your chicken into small pieces. I try to cut mine into long, narrow pieces to give it a shredded chicken feel.
2. Once your chicken has been cut up, marinate it with the minced garlic, ½ tablespoon of soy sauce, and ½ of the sesame oil, and mix it up. Once mixed, let the chicken marinate for as long or as little as you would like. Obvious rules apply: the longer you marinate, the more taste the chicken will have.
3. While the chicken is marinating, start to julienne the cucumber and make the peanut sauce.
4. For the peanut sauce: in a large bowl, add the peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, ½ tablespoon of dark soy sauce, ½ sesame oil, and chili oil. Once all the ingredients are added, stir them together. The mixture will be thick, which is where the water comes in; slowly add water little-by-little and stir it into the peanut sauce.  This will gradually reduce its thickness, and you can stop adding water when it has enough of a saucy consistency (basically, you need it to be able to easily coat your noodles).
5. When the chicken is done marinating, boil the water for the pasta and heat a pan for the chicken. The chicken can be cooked and set aside while you’re making the pasta. Once the pasta is done, run it under cold water to cool (if you have time, you can also let it cool naturally).
6. After the pasta is cooled, get a large mixing bowl, and throw the pasta, cucumbers, and chicken together. Pour the peanut sauce over everything and toss thoroughly so everything is mixed well.

And then you’re done! This is a quick and easy meal that practically anyone can to make during the week, which is a requirement for us because we both work all day.

Favourite Spots: Chicken Rice at Doner Kebab House

This post is going to be a short but very necessary post. When Matt and his friends first started raving about the chicken rice from Doner Kebab House, I was pretty skeptical about it, but now I’m a believer: honestly, that stuff is like crack. Chicken? Goood. Rice? Goood. Housemade garlic hot sauce? Extra gooood.

It’s right by Ryerson and a short walk away from Yonge-Dundas Square, so if you’re in the area, get yourself some chicken rice (or don’t, because then you’ll be like me and crave it all the time). Even if you don’t love it, you really can’t go wrong with a good, filling meal for $8.50!

Chicken Rice!

Look for this sign!

Guest Post: Cooking Time with Mattster Chef

Matt wanted to showcase another side of our eating lives: the food we cook! Today, he documented one of our go-to fast and easy weeknight meals.

It may seem like April and I eat out quite a bit but, but we do cook a lot as well. We love food!  Most of the time, we eat at home during the week, and since we work during the day, we plan our meals so that they’re relatively easy to make. And though we want something easy, we like fresh, home-cooked meals and not frozen foods.

So what’s for dinner tonight?

Soy Cumin Chicken with Balsamic Roasted Carrots and Brussels Sprouts

 

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• Chicken Breast
• ½ tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the Veggies

• 1 lbs of Brussels sprouts
• 1 small/medium carrot
• 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar (you can use less if you want)
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• ½ tbsp of garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the prep (15 mins): I usually get home well before April does, so I do all the prep work while she is still at work. For the chicken breast, my suggestion would be to use a meat mallet to flatten out the chicken breast for even cooking time.  This will make it easier for you to predict when your chicken is cooked.

Once you have flattened the chicken, place it into a bowl large enough for you to marinate the chicken.  Add all the ingredients and rub it into the chicken, then set aside. The longer you let it sit, the more flavour the chicken will have. Usually I try to have it marinate for about an hour.

After you have the chicken marinating, peel the carrot and slice it into chunks. Then slice the bottom of the brussel sprouts and halve them. Set all this aside until you are ready to cook.

Cook time (35 min): The toughest part of saving time to eat a soon as possible after a long day at work is the preheating the oven.  This is what I hate the most! I usually start preheating the oven once April gets home so that we aren’t waiting forever.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  While you are waiting, toss the carrots and Brussels sprouts in the roasting pan with all the ingredients. Once everything is tossed, make sure as many of the flat sides of the Brussels sprouts are face down in the pan. Once the oven is done preheating, bake for 35 mins.

The chicken will take approximate 4-5 mins on each side to cook.  If you can cook all the chicken in one pan all at once, then start heating your pan when there is 12 mins left on the Brussels sprouts and carrots. Make sure the pan is hot, add a little bit of oil, and fry the chicken at medium-high heat.  Once you see the juice in the chicken is clear, everything is good to go.

After that, it’s time to plate and dig in! I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we do!