If you can't find a bagged vegetable medley for this easy noodle bowl, choose 12 ounces of cut vegetables from your market's salad bar and create your own mix.

Makes 6 servings, 1 1/2 cups each

ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons chile-garlic sauce, or to taste (see Ingredient note)
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
1 12-ounce bag fresh vegetable medley, such as carrots, broccoli, snow peas

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil for cooking pasta.
2. Meanwhile, place chicken in a skillet or saucepan and add enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size strips.
3. Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chile-garlic sauce and ginger in a large bowl.
4. Cook pasta in the boiling water until not quite tender, about 1 minute less than specified in the package directions. Add vegetables and cook until the pasta and vegetables are just tender, 1 minute more. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Rinse the pasta and vegetables with cool water to refresh. Stir the reserved cooking liquid into the peanut sauce; add the pasta, vegetables and chicken; toss well to coat. Serve warm or chilled.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 363 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat, 0 g mono); 44 mg cholesterol; 36 g carbohydrate; 29 g protein; 7 g fiber; 348 mg sodium.
Nutrition bonus: Selenium (58% daily value), Fiber (27% dv), Vitamin C (25% dv), Magnesium (19% dv).

TIP: Ingredient Note: Chile-garlic sauce (or chili-garlic sauce, or paste) is a blend of ground chiles, garlic and vinegar and is commonly used to add heat and flavor to Asian soups, sauces and stir-fries. It can be found in the Asian section of large supermarkets and keeps up to 1 year in the refrigerator.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. To serve, stir in 2 tablespoons warm water per portion; serve cold or reheat in microwave.

RELATED RECIPES: Elise's Sesame Noodles | Spicy Beef with Shrimp & Bok Choy | Five-Spice Chicken & Orange Salad | Vegetable Fried Rice | Penne with Roasted Chicken & Radicchio

I always have jars of somewhat exotic sauces in the back of the fridge, and this is a great recipe that uses chile-garlic sauce.

Anonymous

I found that using only water to reconstitute the dressing when eating leftovers wasn't enough - I also added a splash each of the soy and chili garlic sauces and it tasted better than when I made it! An easy substitution - throw in a bag of broccoli slaw instead of the veggies!

Anonymous, Rockford, MI

Quick, simple, and flavorful. Three of my most important considerations when preparing a meal. I was very pleased.

Lucretia, Pensacola, FL

I had high hopes for this dish because my husband and I enjoy Thai food. However, this was unappetizing and we ended up throwing away most of it. It turned out to be "gloppy" and bland.

Danielle, Kirkland, WA

I've tried most of the "similiar" recipes listed, and they are all much better than this one. The 1 cup cooking liquid made for a pretty disgusting final product.

Anonymous, Arlington, VA

Very nutritious but did not really care for the combo with peanut butter.

Anonymous

We enjoyed it. It was easy and quick to put together - great for a weeknight meal.

Anonymous, PEI, Ca

Seems to me that you can't call something low sodium unless it has less than 140 mg. per serving. Certainly this does not.

Anonymous, Columbia, MD

This was a nice weeknight dinner. There are always going to be critics that complain about recipes but the one that struck me was the comment from Daniell from Kirkland WA, she states this recipe was gloppy and bland. If it were gloppy then she did not mix hot pasta water as that loosens the peanutbutter to make it smooth, and if it was bland then she did not use the chile garlic sauce because that is not a bland spice. I liked the recipe, keep up the good work.

Anonymous, Clinton, CT

The amount of peanut butter this recipe calls for overpowers the other ingredients to the point of not being able to taste them. Next time, I'll use 1/2 as much PB and I believe the recipe will be very good.

S.S.J., Raceland, LA

Great recipe. I would use chunky peanut butter if you like a strong peanut flavor and perdue precooked chicken strips to save time. Will definitly make it again!!

Melissa, MD

I tinkered with the ingredient proportions a bit so that the dish had more kick. Added chopped scallions and cilantro as final garnishes. Came out surprisingly tasty. Good basic recipe to use as a departure point.

Pete, Newport Beach, CA

This was a quick, easy recipe. My husband and I enjoyed the recipe as it is listed, but found it a bit bland. I changed it a bit the next time by adding a few dashes of cayenne pepper and reducing by half the amount of water added to the peanut butter. We loved it!

Alison, New Haven, CT

Very good recipe. I served it with some thai sweet chili sauce and that really enhanced the flavor.

Stacie, Bakersfield, CA