Thai Basil Noodle with Peanut Sauce

With a bunch of fresh Asian herbs leftover from a meal of Vietnamese rolls on Monday, I'm happy to find inspiration from them to use up over the course of dinner preparations the rest of this week. This noodle dish was inspired by the leaves of Thai basil. Thai basil’s intense flavour notes stand out in this mildly spiced creamy peanut butter sauce. The egg noodles offer a different variation from the typical Thai rice noodles.

Makes 4 servings

Total Time: 25 minutes (include cooking noodles)

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups thinly shredded napa cabbage

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

½ cup prepared chicken broth

3 Tbsp. smooth or crunchy peanut butter

1 pkg. (450 g) thick egg noodles, cooked and drained

2 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 Tbsp. hot chili sauce such as sambal oelek

2 cups Thai basil leaves

Serve on torn lettuce leaves

1) Heat skillet or wok with oil until medium-hot. Add garlic and cook for one minute; then add cabbage and pepper and cook for two minutes more.

2) Add chicken broth and peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Bring to a boil, then add cooked noodles; mix well.

3) Add fish sauce, hot sauce and basil. Stir-fry or one minute until well incorporated.

Serve with lime wedges and additional hot sauce at the table.