Lettuce Bundles with Spicy Peanut Noodles

I admit that I'm a huge geek about keeping files of recipes from years and years of food publications. These are physical, paper files of pages that have been cut from magazines, and in some cases, the pages were copied if I needed to file the front of the page in one folder and the back in another. Yes, there are folders to categorize drinks, appetizers, salads, soups, sides, seafood, holiday menus, etc. I said I'm a geek about it. I get that. Now, there are two types of searches that happen in these files. One is the frantic search in which I remember a dish, and I know the recipe is filed in there somewhere, and I flip through every folder trying to find it. The other search type is the meandering, happy, just browsing search. That happens when it occurs to me that I haven't dipped into the files in a while, and I take a breezy stroll through food ideas of the past. It was that kind of search that led me to these lettuce bundles, and this gem of a fresh, light meal came from Living magazine in January 2001. Noodles in a spicy peanut sauce are cupped in butterhead lettuce leaves and topped with fresh, crunchy vegetables and chicken, and the big, pretty head of butterhead lettuce I had from my CSA was ready and waiting.

This is a versatile kind of meal. You can set out all the possible fillings and let everyone involved put together their lettuce bundles as they choose. You could use a rotisserie chicken, or grill some chicken, or skip the chicken entirely. Duck was also suggested in the original recipe. I went with soy sauce-marinated chicken that I roasted in the oven. Next, the peanut sauce should be made, and this is a pretty simple one compared to others I've tried. Into the food processor went garlic, ginger, chile paste, peanut butter, soy sauce, a little sugar, oil, lime juice, and water. It seemed like it was missing something, so I added some fish sauce and extra chile paste. For the noodles, I used vermicelli-style rice noodles which cook in boiling water in approximately one minute. Once drained and rinsed, the noodles were tossed with most of the peanut sauce. Some sauce was set aside for drizzling on top of the bundles. Then, you just have to slice and/or chop all the vegetables for toppings. I julienned cucumber, carrot, and serranos and thinly sliced green onion. I had some Thai basil leaves from my herb garden, so I used those as well.

For a meal on the light side, this packs lots of flavor thanks to the peanut sauce. And, those perfectly cupped leaves of butterhead lettuce are easy to bundle up with fillings. Everything can be served at room temperature, or if made in advance, it could also be served chilled. In fact, for a summertime lunch, the cold noodles and sauce from the refrigerator the next day were delightful in the crisp lettuce cups.

Chili Cashew Chicken Noodles

When I’m having one of those 'what should we have for dinner tomorrow night' lack of inspiration moments, I often grab a Donna Hay book. I know the photos will quickly stir ideas for interesting meals, and I’ll be reminded of several things that I’ve been meaning to cook since I first got each book. Donna Hay’s Off the Shelf is where I found this Asian-inspired cashew chicken dish. The flavors here are bright and lively with lemon juice, cilantro, and fish sauce, and there’s a minimum of fuss in the preparation. For a stir fry meal, the list of vegetables to chop was a short one with only red bell pepper, red chillis, and onion. You could easily make this a little more complicated with the addition of some greens like spinach or baby bok choy, but I stuck to the original version.

Thick rice noodles were boiled while the boneless chicken was sliced and the vegetables were chopped. The stir frying began with the onion and chillis. Once fragrant and cooked through, those were removed from the pan, and the sliced chicken was added and browned. Then, sliced bell pepper and whole cashews were added followed by fish sauce, soy sauce, lemon juice, the onion and chilli mixture, and the drained, cooked noodles. Everything was tossed until combined and topped with cilantro leaves. I held back a few red chilli slices to garnish each serving.

As is typical of Donna Hay dishes, this was as flavorful as it was easy to prepare. It was a comfort food kind of meal with lots of textural contrast between the noodles and the crunchy peppers and nuts. I was a little surprised that lemon was used here instead of lime, but the flavor wasn’t a disappointment. It mixed nicely with the fish sauce and soy sauce, and of course cashews and chicken just always play well together. And, the good news is that looking through that book again gave me some renewed inspiration for a few more upcoming meals.

Shredded Salad with Chicken and Peanut Sauce over Rice Noodles

Back to the files I went, and there are so, so many things in those files. I was in spring cleaning mode, and I managed to sort through two bulging folders of recipes before it was time to do something else. It’s kind of fun to look back and see what pages I cut out of magazines years ago. Some recipes are things I’ve tried since then from other sources and no longer require the pages I saved. With other recipes, I can’t believe they’ve been hidden away for so long and I still haven’t tried them. Such was the case with this salad. My best guess is that it came from a summer issue of Living in 2002. I just searched that site and couldn’t find the recipe, so I’ll include my version at the end of this post.

On a side note, I finally made a trip to MT Supermarket to shop for noodles and whatever else caught my eye. I have to say I was overwhelmed by the number of choices of everything. There are countless varieties of rice, soy sauces, fish sauces, vinegars, and on and on. I literally could not decide which noodles to buy and came home with so many my pantry is overflowing. For anyone in Austin who hasn’t gone there yet, I highly recommend it.

But, back to the salad. There is a lot of chopping and shredding and poaching and cooking, so allow plenty of time to complete it. Or, make the peanut sauce or do some chopping in advance. Every layer of this dish is full of flavor beginning with the chicken. Chicken breasts were poached with ginger, garlic, cilantro stems, and sesame oil. The vegetable mixture included cabbage, carrots, serrano chiles, green onions, mint, and cilantro leaves. And then, the peanut sauce is a powerhouse of flavor accenting everything else. This is exactly the kind of dish in which you can add more of a favorite item, leave out one you don’t like, and still have a very interesting combination. The chicken was tender and delicious, but as I was cooking it, I was thinking about how tofu would be just as good and much quicker. I used green cabbage, but savoy or napa would have been great. I shredded it very thinly on a Benriner, but thicker pieces would have added nice texture. I think I say this of every recipe, but next time, I’ll add more chiles. It’s not just me. Kurt always requests more chile flavor and heat as well. So, change this or add that, and you’ll still have a fantastic salad.

To poach the chicken:
1 three-inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed and cut in half
10 cilantro stems
2 T toasted sesame oil
1/2 t salt
2 large, bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

-in a large saute pan, add ginger, garlic, cilantro, sesame oil, and salt and enough water to reach halfway up the side of the pan; bring to a boil over high heat; add the chicken, reduce heat to medium, and cover; simmer until chicken is cooked through; remove from heat and let stand until cool enough to handle
-transfer chicken to a cutting board; remove skin and cut meat from bone, cut meat into small strips or shred with your fingers

Prep vegetables and herbs:
1/2 head green cabbage (or savoy or napa), cored and thinly sliced
6 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced or julienned on slicer
3 serrano chiles, seeded and thinly sliced into long strips
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced white and green parts
1/2 c fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 c fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

-place all sliced and chopped vegetables and herbs in a large mixing bowl

Peanut Sauce:
1 five-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 shallots, peeled and minced
1/4 c fish sauce
1/2 c soy sauce
3/4 c freshly squeezed lime juice
1 c smooth, natural peanut butter
1/4 c toasted sesame oil
2 T water if needed

-in a large measuring pitcher, combine ginger, shallots, fish sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice; whisk in peanut butter; whisk in sesame oil; if sauce is too thick, whisk in water starting with one tablespoon and adding more as needed

To finish salad:
1 pound rice vermicelli noodles
1/2 c roasted, unsalted peanuts for serving

-bring a large pot of water to a boil; cook noodles according to package instructions or until al dente; transfer to a colander to drain; rinse under cold water, drain, and place on a serving platter
-add prepared chicken to bowl of vegetables and herbs and toss to combine; pour half of the peanut sauce over this mixture and toss to coat; taste and add more peanut sauce as desired
-to serve, top noodles with chicken salad mixture, drizzle with some remaining peanut sauce, sprinkle with peanuts, and garnish with any extra herbs or green onions