If you know me, you know I am not a fan of peanut butter. There is something about the texture and smell that just isn’t for me. This recipe called for a whopping (for me) 1/3 cup of smooth peanut butter. I was super hesitant but oh my. This sauce was thick and rich, filled with chunky vegetables and long noodles. I can totally see this sauce being used over rice, as it had a very curry feel to it. This recipe was super quick and easy to do on a weeknight, especially with my husband acting as my sous chef and having everything cut and ready to go when I got home. Without further adieu…

Thai Peanut Ramen with Cilantro and Lime

3/4 lb Chicken breasts, boneless skinless (we diced ours, but they can also be cooked whole and shredded later. That was too much work for a Thursday)

3 cups Baby spinach, fresh

1/3 cup Basil or cilantro, fresh (some people don’t like cilantro)

8 oz Cremini mushrooms (AKA baby bella)

1 clove Garlic

1 inch Ginger, fresh

1 Lime, juice of

2 Red bell peppers

4 cups Chicken broth, low sodium

1 can Coconut milk

1/4 cup Thai red curry paste

2 tbsp Fish sauce (full disclosure- we totally put it in the grocery cart, but it went MIA once we got home and TBH I don’t like it any way)

2 tbsp Honey

1/3 cup Peanut butter, creamy

1/4 cup Soy sauce, low sodium (+2 tbsp for the missing fish sauce)

2 Squares ramen noodles

My husband thinly sliced the mushrooms and red bell peppers. The garlic and ginger got the normal dice.

In a large soup pot, combine the chicken broth, coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, peanut butter, and curry paste.

My favorite tool for measuring out thick things like peanut butter, curry paste, and honey are these super sweet gadgets. I have no idea what they are called, but they have 2 uses. One side measure liquid like a normal measuring glass. The other side pulls out so you can fill it, and then push it out into your bowl. No scrapping, no lost ingredients.

Add the chicken, cremini mushrooms, red peppers, ginger, and garlic. Set over medium heat on the stove and bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes or until you remember you have food on the stove.

Bring the soup to a boil over high heat. Stir in the noodles, lime juice, spinach, and cilantro. Let sit 5 minutes or until the noodles are soft.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with crushed peanuts and fresh cilantro.

Going to be real here and say that this was tough for me to eat just because you’d get the noodles on the fork, then go to get the veggies and everything just fell off. Next time (and there will be a next time!) we’re going to make the sauce with rice. I think the rice will absorb everything really well, and make the eating a much more enjoyable experience.

I actually might do that for lunch tomorrow because there are no more noodles in the bowl.

The wine review for this week will come later. It was a Sangiovese, and we absolutely LOVE this wine. I wanted to make sure we did it justice with a good dinner, so come back later this week for a bonus round: Spaghetti!