• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1” cubes
• 5 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Asian fish sauce
• ½ lb. firm tofu, cut into 1/4” cubes (optional)
• 1 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 ½ tsp. rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• ¾ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. cayenne
• ¾ lb. linguine or chuka soba (chow mein noodles)
• 3 Tbsp. cooking oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2/3 c. peanuts, chopped fine
• 4 c. cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• ½ c. lightly packed cilantro leaves

In a small bowl, combine the chicken with ½ tsp. of the fish sauce. In another bowl, combine the tofu (if using) with another ½ tsp. of the fish sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 5 Tbsp. fish sauce with the water, 1 ½ Tbsp. lime juice, the vinegar, sugar, salt and cayenne. In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until done. Drain. Meanwhile, in a wok or large frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil over moderately high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until just done, 3-4 minutes. Remove. If using the tofu, put another Tbsp. of oil into the pan, add the tofu and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove. Put remaining Tbsp. of oil in pan, add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the pasta and the fish-sauce mixture. Cook, stirring, until nearly all the liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Stir in chicken, tofu (if using), and 1/3 c. peanuts. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ½ Tbsp. lime juice, cabbage, scallions and half of cilantro. Top with remaining peanuts and cilantro.

Serves 4.

Adapted from Food and Wine Magazine’s Quick From Scratch Chicken Cookbook.