By David Tanis
- Total Time
- About 45 minutes
- Rating
- 5(1,630)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Maybe cold pasta makes you think of some mediocre quasi-Italian grab-and-go deli choice in a plastic clamshell.
To me, it conjures up images of delicious Southeast Asian street food and warm ocean breezes. There, cool rice noodles are topped with crisp vegetables, sweet herbs, pungent sauces and usually a little savory element, like sizzled fragrant beef or nuggets of fried spring rolls. A bowl of these saladlike noodles is always appealing, and they’re excellent for hot weather wherever you may find yourself, even if you don’t happen to be on a tropical holiday.
For a dish that’s not especially labor intensive, it ranks high on the flavor scale and tastes fresh, clean and bright: the kind of home-cooked fast food we can all appreciate.
Featured in: As Summer Nears, Cold Noodles to Chill With
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 3tablespoons Asian fish sauce
- 3tablespoons brown sugar
- 6tablespoons lime juice
- 1garlic clove, finely grated
- 6 to 8small Thai chiles, thinly sliced, or 1 or 2 serrano chiles
- 2tablespoons Asian fish sauce
- 2tablespoons rice vinegar
- 6tablespoons lime juice
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- 11-inch chunk ginger, peeled and sliced
- 4tablespoons natural unsalted peanut butter
- 2teaspoons sesame oil
- Pinch cayenne
- 6boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 1¼ pounds
- 4large garlic cloves, halved
- 11-inch chunk ginger, peeled and sliced
- 14-inch length lemon grass, tender center only, thinly sliced
- 2tablespoons Asian fish sauce
- 1tablespoon soy sauce
- 1teaspoon sesame oil
- 3tablespoons brown sugar
- ⅛teaspoon cayenne
- 8ounces dried rice vermicelli or other rice noodles
- 2small cucumbers, cut in ¼-inch half moons
- 1medium carrot, cut in thin julienne
- ¾cup fresh mung bean sprouts or other sprouts
- Small handful basil sprigs
- Small handful mint sprigs
- Small handful cilantro sprigs
- 4tablespoons slivered scallions
- ¼cup crushed or chopped roasted peanuts
- Lime wedges
For the Dipping Sauce
For the Peanut Dressing
For the Chicken and Rice Noodles
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Make the dipping sauce: Combine ingredients in a small serving bowl, making sure to dissolve the sugar. Leave to ripen for 15 minutes. Refrigerate any extra and use within a few days.
Step
2
Make the peanut dressing: In a blender or small food processor, puree all ingredients to a smooth sauce, about the thickness of heavy cream. Pour into a serving bowl.
Step
3
Put the chicken thighs in a low-sided bowl. To make the marinade, puree the garlic, ginger, lemon grass, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar and cayenne in a blender or small food processor. Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss to coat. Let marinate at least 15 minutes.
Step
4
Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then turn off the heat. Add the rice vermicelli and soak for 7 to 8 minutes. (Package directions may vary; check for doneness by tasting). Drain when noodles are al dente, and cool under running water. Fluff and leave in strainer to drain well.
Step
5
Grill the chicken over coals on a stove-top grill pan, or under the broiler until nicely browned, about 3 to 4 minutes a side. Let cool slightly, then chop roughly into ¾-inch pieces.
Step
6
In a small bowl, dress the cucumbers, carrots and mung bean sprouts with 1 tablespoon dipping sauce. Divide the cooked noodles among 4 bowls. Top each bowl equally with the cucumber mixture and chopped chicken. Spoon 2 teaspoons dipping sauce and 2 tablespoons peanut dressing over each portion. Add the basil, mint and cilantro sprigs, torn or roughly chopped (leave whole if leaves are small). Sprinkle with the scallions and crushed peanuts. Serve with lime wedges, and pass small bowls of the two sauces.
Ratings
5
out of 5
1,630
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Cooking Notes
katy lesser
well worth the time and all the ingredients! i added more peanut butter to the dressing and amped up the ginger. also used palm sugar instead of brown sugar because palm has a rich depth that adds a lot to asian cooking.
Sarah
Tremendous, but a bit of work. Used organic boneless thighs from Costco and grilled them (amazing). I threw the dipping sauce together in the food processor which sped up the prep time. Definitely rinse the noodles under cold water so they get slippery vs. sticky. We've made this twice and each time I've added more peanut butter (our preference). The fresh herbs (especially the mint) is imperative. This is restaurant quality, impressive for guests and a keeper in our family.
Nick
Absolutely delicious!! Don't be discouraged by the long ingredients list!!! Most of them are just spices, sauces, and herbs. If you cook asian food with any regularity, you probably have most of the ingredients already—even the fresh ones! This recipe is absolutely phenomenal. I really can't stress how much I and my guests loved it. As an Asian that cooks and has eaten a lot of Asian food, this is really quite something if done properly.
Carol
I thought it was great, and my guests did, too. I wondered if the 6 tbsp. of lime juice for the dressing was a mistake. I had to add more peanut butter and a bit more brown sugar. I'll make it again and start with only 3 tbsp. lime juice and work my way up if necessary.
Charlotte
This is the best NYT recipe I've tried yet. O! How the flavors sing, dance, & leap across the palate! The nutty, creamy sauce awakens my soul, and the sharp, limey brine says, "Time to take on the world!" I'm not a great poet. But this recipe makes me think I could be.
I pulled this off with white sugar, no lemongrass, and regular peanut butter. Next time I'll get the ingredients right, but honestly, I don't know how it could get any better.
Aaron Ernst
I love this dish, but it takes A LOT of time. To speed things up, I cook as follows:
First I prepare the chicken marinade, add chicken, and set aside. Then I make the dipping and and peanut sauces, both of which I double. I put these in individual serving bowls and set out on table.
I then prepare and put veggies, herb garnishes out on table on a single plate. I then cook the chicken and noodles, which I also set out. You're done, and guests can dress the noodles as they wish.
Cathy Y
I loved it, my husband who is a chef loved it and my book club loved it, too! I did make the peanut sauce a little thicker by adding more peanut butter and didn't use as many Thai chiles in the dipping sauce. And added sugar snap peas for a bit more crunch. Will definitely make it again.
Rosie
Authentic and criminally delicious- I call these "peanut crack noodles." Also not challenging- just labor intensive. Worth making the full version once, but handles abbreviations well. I often make just the chicken and peanut sauce, or noodles and peanut sauce with some chopped Asian veggies from a bag, topped with scallion. I rarely make the other dipping sauce.
I use 1 T brown sugar, not 3 in the marinade, and 5 T of PB in the peanut sauce. I use soba noodles if I can't find rice vermicelli.
Cara
This was delicious, made it with chicken breasts instead of thighs on the grill. Agree that the dressing needed a little more peanut butter, I actually added a little brown sugar to the peanut dressing too, I tend to like sauces like this a little sweet. The fresh mint is a must!
Rochelle
Am I missing something? Under "for the chicken and rice noodles" where do the ingredients from 4 large cloves of garlic to1/8 t cayenne go?
Marilyn
We loved this! It took me twice as long but it was worth it. I tossed everything together rather than layering it in individual servings, and as a result it needed more dressing. It also made about 6 servings, rather than 4. But the flavors were lovely. I cut the sugar way down and was glad I did. Used blanched sugar snap peas instead of bean sprouts. I'll tweak it before making it again, but that's pretty typical.
stephanie
This was delicious but definitely labor intensive. Not a 45 minute meal. Other commenters are right about the peanut sauce. It's overpowered by the fish sauce. Extra peanut butter and brown sugar help. But the dipping sauce was so good that our family's pickiest eater actually poured a ton of it on to her plain rice noodles so that alone makes this re ipe a winner at our house.
MarciaSF
Great idea to swap out palm sugar for the brown sugar, and also to add more PB to the dressing. This tasted super fresh and was perfect for a warm summer night.
Pat
It easily took twice as long to make this dish as noted. NYT doesn't include prep time when calculating cooking time (so they told me). It was good, but not sure it was worth it.
Sara
Chicken marinade! Step 3.
Joan
Made as directed. For me too much acid. Corrected with more peanut butter, sugar, and some water. So, as directed it was not for me. As corrected? Delicious.
pamela c.
Absolutely (not so simply) delicious! Wonderful flavors that all come together with the addition of the must have fresh herbs. As others did, I added more peanut butter to the dressing to make it creamier. Used chicken breasts cut into small pieces & marinated for at least an hour, then skewered and char-grilled. Put a small amount of mixed greens on bottom of bowl with some shredded red cabbage, then proceeded with noodles, cucumber mix etc. Worth the effort for sure!
Kaela
This is probably the best NYT recipe I’ve ever made. A couple adjustments I’d make for next time. Add less lime and some sweetener to the peanut butter sauce. I broiled the chicken and it didn’t get enough browning, will pan fry next time. Double the carrot
OMG!
Delicious but very time consuming. All the sauces and marinades are difficult and messy. Try to streamline the recipe.
Kat
Soooooo salty! The peanut dressing totally burned out my tongue! I'd never make it again, but if you're determined to try it, use half of the soy sauce and half of the fish sauce to start. Even less.
julie
50 stars! Didn’t have lemongrass, forgot the peanuts! This is so good!
erg
The marinade and dipping sauce are both brilliant, and can be used for anything, not just in this recipe. The peanut sauce was not much to our liking- too sour. But it’s easy peasy to make peanut sauce. I’ve already used the marinade for chicken skewers, stir fry vegetables, fish. Same goes for the dipping sauce - and additionally as salad dressing. I only made the original recipe two weeks ago, but already have those two sauces on rewind, repeat, rewind, repeat… you get my point- enjoy!
Jenny
Couldn't find lemongrass so I left it out. Still delicious! My 6 year old daughter keeps asking for me to make the chicken for her.
Alex
Also broil til you get a slight, nice char on one side — then broil only briefly on other to firm up and lock in the flavor
Alex
Would add maybe 1 tbsp more than recommended amount peanut butter to peanut sauce next time! A little too lime-forward (though still delicious)
Jane
Can someone clear up my confusion? I made this recipe, preparing the dipping sauce and peanut dressing. When I came to the section titled "For the chicken and rice noodles" I noticed that a number of the ingredients were the same or similar to the ingredients in previous two sections. There was no explanation of how these ingredients were intended to be prepared or used. I left them out and simply added the leftover dipping sauce and peanut dressing to the cooked noodles. The dish tasted fine
Zapes
This recipe involves a lot of prep but it makes a delicious one dish meal for summer. To make it more hearty, I add some cold cooked rice ramen (about 6 oz dry) and double the chilis, arugula and chicken.
Jane Alper
How much sugar in the peanut butter dressing? It's not on the ingredient list but is mentioned in the directions.
Dennis
This may be the greatest NYT recipe of all time.
M
definitely needs more peanut butter to make the sauce the correct consistency, but overall a fabulous restaurant quality dish.
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