Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles

1. Make sauce: Whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, Thai chiles, chile-garlic sauce, ginger, fish sauce, and pepper in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside.

2. Make noodles: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large wok or nonstick pan over high heat. Cook and stir chicken in hot oil until chicken is almost cooked, about 3 minutes. Pour in 1/4 cup sauce and continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer chicken with its juices to a medium bowl.

3. Reduce heat to medium-high. Heat remaining tablespoon olive oil in the same wok or pan used for chicken. Add carrots; cook and stir until just softened but still crunchy, about 3 minutes. Stir in bell pepper; cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add reserved chicken with its juices, remaining sauce, green onions, bean sprouts, and cilantro. Cook and stir until just heated, about 1 minute. Keep warm.

4. Meanwhile, place noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside until noodles are softened, about 5 minutes. Drain.

5. Stir cooked noodles into chicken-vegetable mixture. Garnish with peanuts.

Cook's Notes:

You can use white wine vinegar instead of rice vinegar in a pinch.

You can use palm sugar instead of brown sugar, if desired, and parsley instead of cilantro.

You can swap out sesame seeds for peanuts for garnish.