Thai Noodles-- OH YES I CAN!!!

At our latest and greatest visit to the Asian Market (SuperHMart-- a veritable wonderland) we bought rice noodles because they are gluten-free.  And I suddenly got inspired TODAY.

I love Thai food.  I particularly like that Thai food has this almost magical balance about it .. a mix of sweet, spicy, and tangy all at once.  It's AHHHHHHHH.  And so tonight I decided, for the very first time, to create my own "Thai" dish.


DRUMROLL PLEASE..........


It was nothing short of fantastic!

The baby is currently eating it by double fistfuls, and my husband ate 3 (count 'em 3) bowls.  My big girl is off at Bible school, where she'll have dinner tonight.

Warning: This is a labor-intensive dish, unless you want to try to convert it to the crockpot.  It probably could be converted, I was just into the stove cooking. As a matter of fact, I normally just write down ingredients and measurements when I'm cooking, but this time I made notes.

Still totally worth it.  I may make it again this week.

Ingredients:

3 inch piece fresh ginger (chopped coarsely, divided)
3 garlic cloves (smashed)
1 onion (sliced)
2 tsp. lemongrass
2 tsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. sesame oil
7 cups chicken broth (can sub water for 6 if need be)
5 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (divided)
3 boneless skinless chicken thighs (diced)
1 300 g pkg. rice stick
1 small container frozen mushrooms or 1 can sliced mushrooms
3 heads baby bok choy
1 carrot (chopped)
1 stalk celery (chopped)
1 can coconut milk (divided)
5 tsp. rice vinegar (divided)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar (divided) (I like Bragg's)
2 tsp. powdered garlic (divided)
1/2 tsp. gf curry powder

4 tsp. fish sauce (divided)
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 lime (juiced or sliced to squeeze)


First, gather all of your veggies, wash them and prep them according to ingredient list.  Also wash and chop your chicken.  Next, in a LAAARGE skillet, heat the coconut and sesame oils together on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the fresh garlic and onion and 2/3 of the ginger. Cook all together until onions are translucent, tossing or stirring often to prevent burning.  Add 1 cup of chicken broth, 4 tbsp. worchestershire sauce, and lemongrass.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then add chicken.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until chicken is done.

While chicken is cooking, add either 6 cups of chicken broth or 6 cups hot water to a large bowl.  Add your package of rice noodles.  Let them soak in the bowl until further notice.

Back to the chicken.  Is it done yet? Great. Dump it all in a big bowl, and return your pan to the stove.  In the pan, add the frozen or canned mushrooms, the rest of the chopped ginger, and 1/2 a can of coconut milk.  Reduce the heat to low.
Add to the pan:
3 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. powdered garlic
1/2 tsp. gf curry powder
2 tsp. fish sauce

If you aren't gluten-free, you can sub Jamaican curry powder.  Cook the contents on sauce, letting the flavors meld together.  After the flavors are melded or once you get impatient, add in the chopped carrots and celery.  Bring the heat up to medium and add 1/2 tsp. of brown sugar, stirring it in really well.  Dump in the bok choy and sprinkle the cayenne pepper over it all.  Stir everything up really well, making sure the cayenne mixes in.  Cook for 3 minutes, but keep an eye on it to be sure nothing's burning.

While that is all cooking, mix together in a bowl:
1/2 can coconut milk
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. fish sauce
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. powdered garlic
Mix it up well, using a whisk if need be to dissolve everything.  Return the chicken to the pan, mix in well with the veggies.    Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and veggies.  Drain your noodles and add to the pan.  Stir everything up.  You may need to use a pasta spatula for this.  Add about 1 1/2 cups of water.  Cover and continue to cook on low heat for about 10 minutes or until noodles are soft. Meanwhile, start collecting all the bottles of ingredients laying all over the kitchen and put them away.  Periodically, open the lid and stir up everything to be sure nothing is burning at the bottom of the pan.  Serve in a bowl with a slice of lime squeezed over it. 

I think you could dump pretty much all of it into the crockpot, cook all day, and then do the noodles towards the end.  But I"m not really sure. If you try it and it works, please let me know.