Chinese Chicken and Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce, Stirfry or Veggies and Dip

Salad recipe adapted from Relish magazine.
1 lb chicken breasts
1 T vegetable oil
2 pkg Ramen noodles, seasoning packets discarded for another use
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 T red wine vinegar
3 T soy sauce
1/4 c water
1 1/2 T sugar
5 oz Romain lettuce
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 c cucumber, peeled and diced
6 green onions, sliced

whatever vegetables you have on hand


Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain in a colander and let cool. Cut chicken breasts into thin slices. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add chicken and saute about 3 minutes or until cooked. Whisk together peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, water, and sugar in a small bowl. Stack Romain lettuce leaves. Roll up into a long cylinder. Slice across the roll to form thin strips. Toss noodles with chicken and peanut butter mixture in a large bowl. Add bell pepper, cucumber, green onion and lettuce; toss to combine well.

Assess the vegetables you have around. Stirfry and drizzle with teriyaki sauce, or just serve raw veggies with a little reserved peanut sauce, depending on what you have available.

*This salad was fun and different, especially with the noodle/lettuce combination. However, I have no idea where they got the idea to call it "Chinese" (I think "Thai" would have been much more appropriate...). I think the peanut sauce could have used some sesame oil and garlic, and I would have preferred to break the noodles up a lot more before cooking them. Adding some edamame would have been a nice touch. Overall, this was a fun recipe to try, but probably won't be repeated at our house without some modifications.