Thai Peanut Noodles

What you need (again, not much measuring here. Just throw stuff in until the ratio looks good to you.): 
spaghetti, enough for 2
red bell pepper, diced
peanuts, chopped
green onions, chopped
edemame

For the chicken & peanut simmer sauce*:
cooking oil 
chicken (I used a pound), cut up into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp Thai sweet red chili sauce
2 tbsp water
*I only used about 1/2 pound of chicken for the pasta (for 2 people). If you have leftovers, use them in a Thai Peanut Chicken Salad.

Steps:
1. Heat the oil in a pan, and start to cook the chicken
2. Mix up all the simmer sauce ingredients
3. When the chicken is getting close to done, add the peanut sauce (save just a little), peppers, peanuts, onions, and edemame
4. While you're cooking the chicken, cook the pasta in a different pan
5. When the pasta is done, add it to the pan with the chicken and add the rest of the peanut sauce. Stir it all together.

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Thai Peanut Chicken Salad

This is a good way to use up extra chicken from Thai Peanut Noodles.

What you need (I just cut up enough ingredients to make a large salad. There wasn't much measuring here): 
For the salad:
red bell pepper, diced
salad (I had a butter lettuce blend, so that's what I used)
peanuts, chopped
green onions, chopped
carrots, chopped
A bit of salt

For the chicken & peanut simmer sauce*:
cooking oil 
chicken (I used a pound), cut up into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp Thai sweet red chili sauce
2 tbsp water
*I only used about 1/2 pound of chicken for the salad, so using 1 pound will make a larger salad. Or, save the other 1/2 pound for Thai Peanut Noodles

Steps:
1. Heat the oil in a pan, and start to cook the chicken
2. Mix up all the simmer sauce ingredients
3. When the chicken is getting close to done, add the peanut sauce, saving just a little bit
4. Allow the chicken to simmer in the sauce for a bit, but keep the heat low
5. When the chicken is done, cool it in the fridge, along with the rest of the peanut sauce
6. When the chicken is cool, add it with all of the salad ingredients in a big bowl. 
7. Drizzle with the rest of the peanut sauce. 

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Escapades.

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Spicy Thai Coconut Soup

I wouldn't want to eat this soup every day, but it was a good enough recipe to keep for another time.

What you need:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• Some ginger...I have one of those bottles you keep in the fridge...so I just gave it a good squirt
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp sambal oelek (or thai red curry paste)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 tsp soy sauce
• You'll see some green stuff in my photo. Yeah, I have no idea what that is. Probably spinach, maybe green onion.

The original recipe from Food Wanderings in Asia called for a few more ingredients (mushrooms, lemon grass, koriander), but I'm not that fancy, and someone in the house doesn't like mushrooms.

Steps:
1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes.
2. Add the sambal oelek and cook for another minute.
3. Add the coconut milk, broth, sugar, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

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