Brown Bag Lunch #6 Thai Chicken Peanut Noodle Salad

Pregnancy vitamins don't contain protein. I think the medical establishment figures women in the Western world have no problem getting enough protein in their diets. In fact, most Americans get too much. I don't think I can count myself among them, though. I love starch, sugar and vegetables in that order. Meat is good but I don't really crave it, so here is a working woman's brown bag lunch which is also packed with protein for a growing baby.

Ingredients for 2 big or 3 small lunches:

1 full chicken breast (both sides) PROTEIN SOURCE #1
1 med clove garlic, minced
a 1/2 inch piece of ginger, minced
2 stalks of lemongrass, bulbous part only, minced very fine
1 tbsp vegetable oil

sauce:
1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy, as you like it)PROTEIN SOURCE #2
1/4 cup soy sauce
juice of 1 juicy lime (or 2 not-so-juicy limes)
1 tbsp fish sauce
hot pepper to taste*
water for thinning (optional)

1 medium cucumber, peeled, quartred lengthwise and sliced thinly
2 green onions thinly sliced into rounds
1lb (450grams) package of very thin Asian rice, wheat or buckwheat vermicelli


*Use cayenne, use Thai red pepper-garlic paste, even use Harissa like I did. It was not terribly hot so I ended up adding 3 tsps and could have even added more.

Put the chicken breast in the freezer until it has become half frozen. This helps you to cut it into the small, 1/2 inch dice that you need. Place the oil in a large frying pan and add the chicken, garlic, ginger and lemongrass all together and sautee until the chicken is cooked through and beginning to turn golden. Take off heat and let cool.

Whisk all sauce ingredients together you will probably want to add a couple teaspoons of water to thin out the consistency. It should be as thick as stirred yogurt.

Cook noodles according to package instructions. Once done strain in a collander and do something no self-respecting Italian would ever do: pour cold water over noodles until they are cold. If taking to work, put a portion of noodles in one container and drizzle with a bit of vegetable oil to keep the noodles from sticking. Place all other ingredients in a different container and mix at lunchtime. If eating at home, spread the noodles on a plate, pour sauce over them and arrange chicken and vegetables on top. Music to eat Thai Chicken Peanut Noodle Salad or anything else by: punk band, Fugazi and the greatest You Tube video of all time: Waiting Room. Enjoy!