Peanut Chicken Skewers atop spicy rice noodles

Peanuts- I've never quite understood all the hype about them. Don't get me wrong, I eat them. I've eaten them boiled and mixed with onions and chillies, eaten them roasted in their pods, roasted without their pods, ground up in a tangy, spicy chutney, peanut butter and in brittle-- pretty versatile, I'll give them that but still dont get the fuss! My husband on the other hand, can polish off a jar, as in a whole, entire jar of peanut butter in 2 days. He has a thing for peanuts and bananas, I guess its no mystery what he was in his previous life! Just kidding...

I really wouldnt go out of my way to find a way to use peanut butter in my cooking if it werent the item of this month's Jihva. I havent been following it for a while, I think I've probably done one and think its high time for the next one. Jihva for peanuts it is!

Serendipity is a beautiful thing, the goal was to focus on the chicken but the noodles, ooohhh the noodles were so darn delicious! Sweet, spicy, tangy, all in all really good. One of my new favorite things to make. The only thing missing is some green-- garnishing with some green onions or cilantro would have been perfect but I was all out...oh well there's always next time!

[UPDATE: According to Cook's Hideout who is "hosting" this event and taking things a bit too seriously in my opinion, the event this month is VEGETARIAN. So, this "disqualifies" my dish. Its funny that she would remember to include this particular rule after she got my entry. And although I can completely respect ones religious/moral inclinations, how sacrilegious can it be to put a picture and link of food that was made by somebody else?? Radical, more than a little asinine and discriminating in my opinion. If you have such strong feelings about diet then why volunteer "hosting" something that is supposed to compile peoples interpretation/application of natural ingredients. But dont worry, I will not be pulled down, while I recover from this slap on the wrist inflicted by the vegetarian food police, always remember my fellow carnivore bretheren, in the words of the brilliant ad campaignists at Hillshire farm, GO MEAT!! Dramatic? Yeah, don't you love it?]

For the Peanut Chicken Skewers

1.71 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 in my case), cut into cubes

3 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp corriander powder

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp of chilli powder

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375F. Soak wooden skewers in water (avoids burning of the wood).

Mix all ingredients except chicken in a bowl. If the mixture is too thick, add more oil to thin it out but it shouldnt be runny. Add chicken and make sure all pieces are evenly coated. Skewer the chicken cubes. Line skewers on a well greased cookie tray (I lined mine with foil). And place in oven for about 35-40 mins till done.

For Noodles:

1/2 pack of Rice noodles cooked according to directions (soak in hot water for 5 minutes, and place in cold water till ready to use)

1 onion chopped

1/2 green pepper chopped

2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp chilli sauce (Sri Racha)

Noodle sauce (Just combine everything):

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

juice of 1 lime

Fry onions and green peppers in a wok. Add ginger-garlic paste. Then add cooked noodles and fry for about 3 minutes. Add the noodle sauce and chilli sauce. Give it a nice thorough stir, check on the salt, add more now if necessary. Serve with chicken skewers. Yummmm.....