Peanut Sauce Noodles: a low-carb, Thai-inspired dish

Of all the recipes I've posted to date, this is by far the one I've been most excited to share. Why? Because it took me three attempts to get it right. Determined to succeed, I ate this same dish on three consecutive nights, making three separate trips to the grocery store to repurchase the main ingredient, tofu shirataki noodles. If you haven't heard of them before and happen to love noodles but are eating a low-carb diet, you're going to be mighty happy you're reading this post.

These noodles contain only 20 calories, 3 grams of carbohydrates, and 15 grams of sodium per 4 oz serving, plus 2 grams of fiber. I'll admit that they do have a funky aroma, but if you follow the directions provided on the packaging in which you're advised to drain, rinse, and either microwave them for a minute or boil them for 2-3 minutes, the smell will go away. After drying them out in a paper towel, you're left with a blank canvas of noodles for which the flavoring possibilities are endless.

I originally decided to experiment with tofu shirataki noodles after two events occurred:
1) a coupon for  tofu shirataki noodles appeared in Sprouts' weekly coupons, and 2) a craving for peanut sauce hit me. My family used to mess around with me whenever we'd go out for Thai food, asking on each visit how my order of peanut sauce with spring rolls was. In times past, I would drench anything I could in the heavy sauce, and don't act like you didn't (or still currently) do the same. What then sounds better than a bowl of peanut sauce-laden noodles?

A quick google search revealed that I wasn't the only one with this ingenious idea, but the majority of the recipes called for far more ingredients than I was willing to purchase (oh, the life of the college student). Improvising, I decided to pull certain aspects from a couple of different takes on the dish and then based the sauce on this lightened-up peanut sauce recipe by Eating Bird Food. For the comparatively minimal amount of ingredients and preparation needed to make this dish, the noodles turned out fantastically!


To make these peanut sauce noodles, you'll need:

For the base:
- One package of tofu shirataki noodles (or non-soy shirataki noodles)
- A piece of lean chicken breast (around a 4 oz serving)

For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

Optional additions:
- A wedge of lime
- Sesame seeds (amount as desired)

To make the base, prepare the noodles following the instructions mentioned above and heat the chicken over a stovetop until fully cooked. As for the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until you have a thick and creamy mixture. After all is prepared, simply combine the noodles, chicken, and sauce into a bowl. You can choose to squeeze on some lime juice for tanginess (this also makes stirring in the sauce much easier without watering everything down... hence where I went wrong in my first two attempts) and sprinkle on some sesame seeds for added crunch. And there you have it! I would have liked to have had an additional taste tester with me when I made the dish, but since my roommate was out of town, I'm interested to hear what you all think!