Spicy Sesame Noodles With Chicken and Peanuts Recipe • 4★

Published March 3, 2023

Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

In this quick and spicy weeknight noodle dish, sizzling hot oil is poured over red-pepper flakes, orange peel, crunchy peanuts, soy sauce and sesame oil. While you brown the ground chicken, the mixture sits, and the flavors become more pronounced and fiery. Tossed with soft noodles and browned chicken, the bright chile-peanut oil shines. If you crave something green, throw in a quick-cooking green vegetable when you break up the chicken in Step 3. You can also swap the chicken with ground pork or beef, or crumbled tofu.

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1 ½ tablespoons red-pepper flakes

1 ½ tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil, plus more as needed

Kosher salt and black pepper

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon neutral oil, like grapeseed or vegetable

6 tablespoons roasted, salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Rind of ½ orange, peeled into 2- to 3-inch strips

1 pound ground chicken

10 to 12 ounces ramen or udon noodles, preferably fresh

3 tablespoons finely chopped chives

Step 1In a medium heatproof bowl, stir together the red-pepper flakes, soy sauce and sesame oil. Set next to the stovetop.

In a medium heatproof bowl, stir together the red-pepper flakes, soy sauce and sesame oil. Set next to the stovetop.

Step 2Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, cook the ½ cup oil, peanuts and orange rind, shaking the pan occasionally, until the peanuts are golden and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately pour the contents of the skillet over the red-pepper mixture (be careful of splattering!) and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, cook the ½ cup oil, peanuts and orange rind, shaking the pan occasionally, until the peanuts are golden and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately pour the contents of the skillet over the red-pepper mixture (be careful of splattering!) and set aside.

Step 3Meanwhile, in the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add the chicken and press it down with a wooden spoon into a thin layer. Season with salt and a generous amount of black pepper and cook, without stirring, occasionally pressing the layer of chicken down, until the bottom is browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Break the chicken up into small pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes more.

Meanwhile, in the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add the chicken and press it down with a wooden spoon into a thin layer. Season with salt and a generous amount of black pepper and cook, without stirring, occasionally pressing the layer of chicken down, until the bottom is browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Break the chicken up into small pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes more.

Step 4While the chicken cooks, cook the noodles according to package directions, until chewy but not soft. Drain and toss with a bit of sesame oil.

While the chicken cooks, cook the noodles according to package directions, until chewy but not soft. Drain and toss with a bit of sesame oil.

Step 5Remove and discard the orange rind from the chile oil. Off the heat, add enough chile oil to coat the chicken and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Add the noodles and toss, adding more chile oil to fully coat the noodles and chicken. (If you don't use all of the chile oil, you can store it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks in an airtight container.) Top with chives and serve at once.

Remove and discard the orange rind from the chile oil. Off the heat, add enough chile oil to coat the chicken and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Add the noodles and toss, adding more chile oil to fully coat the noodles and chicken. (If you don't use all of the chile oil, you can store it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks in an airtight container.) Top with chives and serve at once.

I added 4 cloves of minced garlic, and 2 inches of sliced ginger to the chicken, and finished the whole thing with chopped cilantro, green onions, and cucumber. I had to use gf spaghetti. Next time I will grate orange zest into the pepper sauce instead of just cooking the big pieces and taking them out. I will also use a little less pepper .

After making it once, I would try garlic next time... I found the taste a bit, well, two dimensional— heat and everything else.

Just as a thought experiment, I wonder sometimes how many ingredients can be omitted or replaced with the commenter still able to claim they ‘made’ a recipe. I sure see a lot of:

‘Skipped a and b, added x, y, z and c, and I know my way is better!’

I love spice, but 1.5 TBS of chili flakes, way too hot for me. I like the garlic and ginger recommendations. I used GF ramen and that worked well.

Add garlic for flavour, half the oil but add more sesame oil because the flavour doesn‘t really come through at all. Added a tbsp of peanut butter for creaminess

I would probably add less oil, I only added around 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon and it turned out great! :)

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020732-spicy-sesame-noodles-with-chicken-and-peanuts