Thai Honey Peanut Chicken

After a long week of work for both Nick and I we decided to stay in this weekend and catch up on the shows in our DVR.  And what better way to celebrate winter hibernating in front of the TV than with a heaping plate of delicious Thai food.  One of Nick's favorite dishes is a Thai Honey Peanut Chicken so I decided to try and come up with a recipe.

Everything I found online was either not spicy enough, not peanutty enough, or not sweet enough.  This version is very tasty; with an adjustable amount of heat and the perfect balance of acidity to the sweetness of the honey it was a delicious night of TV for the two of us.  This dish does take a bit of prep.  The marinade needs to be put on the chicken at least 30 minutes before you decide to put the chicken on the grill.  I made the marinade and let it sit and combine in the fridge while mixing up the rest of the ingredients.

This recipe calls for some ingredients you will have to find the international section of your super market.  For this dish I used Pad Thai noodles for the base but I am sure it would be equally as yummy served up with Lo Mien noodles or steamed rice if you cannot find Pad Thai. It also calls for garlic chili paste, hoisin sauce, and sriracha (Thai hot sauce) which you could find near the soy sauce.

While I'm sure the chicken would be absolutely fantastic perfectly charred from a grill it would have completed violated our hibernation rules to venture out into the cold and babysit the chicken while it grilled.  I instead opted for the not as wonderfully delicious but still acceptably tasty indoor option of the Foreman Grill.  It turned out great - I was even able to get sear marks on the chicken!

Ingredients

Serves 4 - easily doubled for a group
  Marinade
1/4 cup soy sauce 1
T. lime juice (about 1 lime)
1 t. garlic, minced
2 t. fresh ginger, grated
2 t. garlic chili paste
1.5 lbs chicken boneless skinless breast, cleaned

Directions
1) Whisk all the ingredients (except the chicken) together and pour into a plastic bag or large bowl. Place chicken breasts in the bag/bowl with the marinade and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes but up to 4 hours.

2) Place chicken on a pre-heated grill (or Foreman) for 4-6 minutes per side or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Let the chicken rest 3-4 minutes then cut into thin strips and set aside.
   
Honey Peanut Noodles
1 16oz bag Pad Thai Noodles
1/4 cup hoisin sauce (Chinese barbecue sauce)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
2 t. lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)
1 t. garlic chili paste*
1 t. soy sauce
1-2 t. sriracha (optional)*
2 T. canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup peanuts, roughly chopped
4 lime wedges

*Note: If you likes your dishes spicier add the sriracha to taste. If you like things wicked hot add an additional 1-2 teaspoons of the garlic chili paste.

Directions

1) Prepare Pad Thai Noodles according to instructions on the package.

2) While the noodles cook combine the hoisin sauce, peanut butter, honey, lime juice, garlic chili paste, soy sauce, and sriracha in a bowl and whisk until combined.

3) Place the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and quickly fry the peanuts until shiny (about 30 seconds to 1 minute).  Add the honey peanut sauce and heat until warm.

4) Toss the noodles with the honey peanut sauce and place the sliced chicken on top.  Garnish with a lime wedge. (Which can help to neutralize the heat if you went over board with the chili paste)

5) Grab a beer from the fridge, snuggly sweatpants from the bedroom, and the remote from the TV and shamelessly enjoy your Thai food and reality TV; it's been a long week after all and I'm sure you deserve it! :)