Drunken Noodles

I must be in a rut. All I seem to cook is noodles, and more specifically, Asian noodles. I think they’re a good summer dish. Pretty quick and easy, and the spicy ones like this give you a great excuse to drink a lot of beer to tame the heat on your tongue. This recipe looks scary with 12 cloves of garlic and lots of peppers, but the garlic isn’t strong at all, and the peppers can be cut down. I would recommend this recipe, which I adapted from Epicurious.com, if you like Asian noodles. Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 14-ounce package 1/4-inch-wide flat rice noodles*

2 T vegetable oil
12 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh Thai chiles* (use green or red, and cut down to 1T if you just want a little heat, 2T if you like it moderately hot, 3T (what I used) if you like it pretty spicy and 1/4 c if you’re Layne. Not using some of the seeds will cut down the spice a lot)
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup black soy sauce (I used dark soy sauce- I think it’s the same)
1/4 cup regular soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
4 large plum tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges
2 Anaheim chiles or Italian frying peppers, or 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 cup fresh Thai basil leaves* or regular basil leaves

Directions:

Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring frequently, then drain. Meanwhile, heat oil in wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and Thai chiles; sauté 30 seconds (careful not to burn). Add chicken and next 4 ingredients and sauté until chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove chicken from wok and saute the Anaheim peppers and red bell pepper in a little oil until slightly softened, about 2 min. Add the chicken mixture and noddles back to the wok and toss over medium heat to coat. Just before serving, sprinkle with basil leaves, toss and serve.