Thai-Inspired Basil Colander Noodles

FASTER

GLUTEN-FREE

Makes 4 servings

Here’s a stir-fry without a wok! Cook the chicken in the pot, then add the pasta. (We can’t put the chicken in a colander and expect it to cook through as in other versions of this technique.) When you drain the noodles, the hot water will then soften the shallots (getting rid of their raw-onion flavor) and soften the bite of the chiles.

2 or 3 medium fresh jalapeño chiles or 1 or 2 fresh long green Anaheim chiles, stemmed and thinly sliced into rings

2 medium shallots, thinly sliced into very thin rings

½ cup chicken broth

⅓ cup roasted unsalted peanuts

½ cup packed basil leaves, roughly chopped

6 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon hot red pepper sauce, such as Sriracha

1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced as if for stir-fry

12 ounces uncooked dried wide rice noodles

1. Bring a large saucepan or pot of water to a boil over high heat.

2. Meanwhile, put the chiles and shallots in a large colander set in the sink.

3. Put the broth, peanuts, basil, oyster sauce, fish sauce, pepper sauce, and sugar in a large, heat-safe serving bowl.

4. Drop the chicken into the boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes at a high boil.

5. Add the noodles and cook just until they’re tender, about 2 minutes, stirring a few times.

6. Slowly drain the chicken, noodles, and their cooking water over the chiles and shallots. Let it alone for 1 minute.

7. Pour the still-hot ingredients in the colander into the serving bowl. Toss well until the noodles are coated in the sauce and everything is evenly distributed throughout. Serve at once.

Test Kitchen Notes

• For less heat, halve the chiles and remove the seeds and their membranes before slicing. Work with rubber gloves if you’re sensitive to a chile’s heat.

• Look for oyster sauce, a sticky-sweet Asian condiment, near the soy sauce in larger supermarkets. Its thickeners often contain gluten. If that is a concern, look for gluten-free oyster sauce from online suppliers.

• Fresh rice noodles are too soft for this dish. Use dried rice noodles for better texture. These can be tricky to track down. Look for them in health-food stores and very large, gourmet supermarkets.

Voilà! Don’t add oil to the water as pasta cooks. The oil makes the noodles so slick that the sauce has a hard time sticking to them.