I am kind of obsessed with Trader Joes. If you don’t have one near you, then I’m sorry… cause they are awesome and hopefully one day you TOO can experience the coolness. One of the items I’m kind of in love with is their Spicy Thai Style Pasta Salad with Diced Chicken. Its a great cold salad with veggies and chicken and a yummy peanut-style sauce. I had picked one up this past weekend with the intention of eating it Monday. Somehow between Saturday and Monday, the sauce had congealed and looked like, pardon my language, fart putty*.
Although Trader Joes has an awesome return policy, I had another idea… Time for another Pinterest Experiment!
I remembered a pin I had titled “Ramen Noodle Upgrade.” The pin took me to a website which then cited my girl Martha Stewart as the original source of the recipe. The recipe is pretty brilliant. You just boil your ramen noodles in the water with the flavoring packet. Once the noodles are done cooking, drain off the water and then add the following ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha chili sauce
- 1/2 scallion, thinly sliced (optional)
Since I already had the noodles, green onions, cabbage, and spiced/ diced chicken from Trader Joes… all I needed was the sauce! So, I added the above sauce components (substituting cashew butter for peanut butter) and Y’ALL… it was great! I can see where this would super-work with ramen… since my Trader Joes salad was cold and the ramen would be warm. Although ramen noodles, as is, are a comfort food that I try not to eat often/or at all… this sauce elevates this dorm-room staple into an awesome Thai-style treat. You don’t need to add a meat when you make this, but I (personally) need protein to balance sugars. So, next time you are low on time and inspiration… (I mean LOOK at that to-do list below… and two pairs of scissors?! Homegirl be busy!) keep this recipe in mind.
*When I poured out the original congealed Trader Joes sauce, I thought to myself, “Man… what is the name of that stuff… came in a plastic tube… and it makes farty noises… that’s what this looks like?!” The internet rabbit hole that I went down to finally come up with “noise/fart putty” was a dark place… Never, I repeat, never ever search for “fart slime” on Google. You’ve been warned.
Flarp! Ahahahaha!…and go ahead and feel sorry for me for not having a Trader Joe’s. I do!