Thai Peanut Noodle Stir-Fry

Can you believe it?!?! Wine Diva is posting??? It's been ages, but I'm posting my July Recipe. My ingredient for the Iron Chef Edition was Sugar Snap Peas. I wasn't super thrilled with this at first. The two main foods I don't usually enjoy are beans and peas. But that's what happens when you go on vacation during a Diva get together :-) I do enjoy eating raw snap peas with veggie dip, but I figured if I walked in today with 5 bags of peas and 5 bottles of ranch dressing, I would be impeached from my position! So... I figured that I like stir-fry and can eat whole pea pods that way, which led me to find the Thai Peanut Noodle Stir-Fry at Allrecipes.com... and it has some sake in it, which is kinda wine-ish, right? (Don't worry Lil' Cheesy Nugget, the alcohol cooks out!.. By the way, isn't a cheesy nugget kind of a cheese curd? I love those things.) :-)

Ingredients

• 8 ounce package uncooked noodles (I used Thai rice noodles)

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup broth (I used chicken, but you can use vegetable to make it vegetarian)
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (I omitted this ingredient… technically, because some of the ladies don’t enjoy the extra heat, but emotionally it was in mourning of the moving of Spicy Diva :-(
• 2 tablespoons sake

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• *I added chopped chicken breasts/tenderloin
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1 cup carrots, sliced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup sugar snap peas

Directions

1. Bring water to boil in a pot.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch into the vegetable broth until dissolved. Whisk in the peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, ground ginger, and red pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sake and keep warm.
3. Place noodles in boiling water. Cook for about 4 minutes. (If you choose to use spaghetti noodles, follow package directions.)
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and onion (I also added the chicken at this point); cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper, and sugar snap peas. Reduce heat, cover, and steam until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Toss the vegetables with the peanut sauce and pasta to serve.