Chicken Nood Wraps with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

Whenever I answer the question, "what's for sups?", with the question, "what do YOU want for sups?", the answer is usually immediately: nood wraps! Last night was no different. 

Nood wraps are high up on our list of go-to meals and I have to give Brian credit for what I thought would be an awkward combination of foods that turned out pretty delicious! It all started at one of those choose-your-own-adventure delis in Kelowna last summer when we decided to share a wrap and I let Brian go wild with the ingredient selection. Impressed, I attempted to recreate the wrap at home with some tweaks of course. For me, "tweaks" are most often defined as extreme flavor bursts that tend to involve some heat. I wasn't sold on the deli's drippy chipotle lime dressing, and went with a thick peanut sauce instead, which I think is pretty key, so I strongly suggest a heavy hand when saucing the wrap. 

Yield: 3 wraps 

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Chicken marinade: 



chicken & marinade

• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp cayenne*
• 1-2 squirts of sriracha*
• Spicy thai peanut sauce: 
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• at least a 1-inch section of fresh ginger root (sometimes more), minced
• 2 small chilis, minced, seeds included for extra heat (I've got dried tien tsin chinese chilis used for hunan dishes, but have also used fresh red thai chili peppers)*
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (1-2 limes) 
• 2/3 cup reduced-fat peanut butter (I use creamy/smooth, not chunky)
• 1/4 cup light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp cayenne*



dried egg noodles

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 large whole wheat wraps (I prefer La Tortilla Factory's wraps for their low-fat, low-carb, high fibre options) 
• 3 bundles of oriental style dried egg noodles (can be fresh or dried, as long as it's not fried!)
• fresh, washed spinach
• grated cheese (marbled colby-jack pictured above) 
• fresh chopped cilantro

* This is not recommended at all, but if you really can't take the heat... reduce/omit the cayenne, sriracha, chili peppers and basically all things fun :)

Trim any fat off chicken breast and cut into small strips. Add marinade ingredients to chicken, mix, and set aside. Feel free to marinade hours in advance to really let the goodness soak in.

spicy thai peanut sauce

Prepare peanut sauce. Start by mincing the garlic, ginger and chilis. Heat a small amount of olive oil to a small frying pan over med-high. Add garlic, ginger and chilis. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, til fragrant and the edges of the garlic turn golden brown. Remove pan from heat and set aside. 

Juice lime(s) and pour into small sauce pan with lid. Combine all other peanut sauce ingredients, including the cooked garlic, ginger and chili peppers with lime juice in sauce pan. Cook over low heat til peanut butter melts. Stir frequently to mix and prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom. Remove from heat, cover with lid and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 350 C. Place wraps in aluminum foil and warm in oven for 5 minutes. Feel free to skip this step if you don't need warmed wraps. 

Boil enough water in a separate pot to cover noodles. Dried egg noodles cook in 2-3 minutes in boiling water (or per package instructions). Drain cooked noodles in colander. 

Add small amount of olive oil to the same small frying pan that was used to cook the garlic, ginger and chilis. Stir fry chicken over high heat til cooked. Remove from heat. 

Chop fresh spinach up a bit if they are not baby leaves. Grate as much cheese, and chop as much fresh cilantro as your taste buds desire. 

Build your own wraps!  I arrange all of the prepared items on the kitchen counter in an assembly line so you can customize wraps with as much or as little of everything as you like. As previously mentioned, a solid helping of peanut sauce is crucial to tasty times, so don't be afraid to start with an initial coating of sauce as a base layer, followed by some generous dollops to top the pile off before you close the wrap up. 

Note: My eyes and stomach are always bigger than the tortilla. I pile things high and end up having technical difficulties with wrap execution, so maybe don't go overboard if you want to keep things elegant. Enjoy!