Mung Bean Noodles with Chicken and English Cucumbers

This is one of my favorite dishes I’ve ever had from my mom’s kitchen. The noodles are made from mung beans and contain less carbohydrates than regular noodles and the combination of peanut butter and chicken makes this a healthy dish you can enjoy all year round. You can substitute mung bean noodles for any kind of noodles and serve the dish hot or cold (personally, I like the noodles cold).

Mung Bean Noodles with Chicken and English Cucumbers

Ingredients

1 cup mung bean powder
6 cups water
1 English cucumber
1 pound of chicken, cooked and shredded

Sauce:
1 tablespoon peanut butter
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil

First, cook the chicken or purchase a roasted chicken from the grocery store:

I browned the chicken in a skillet and then stuck them in the oven until they were done. Set them aside to cool and then shred them for the noodle dish. If you purchase a roasted chicken, simply shred the meat with your hands or with a fork.

The mung bean noodles are made from a powder (you can find the powder in Chinatown or any Asian grocery store). Use 6 cups of water for every 1 cup of mung bean powder. Stir together over medium heat in a medium sized pot (until the powder is completely incorporated). Let it set for at least 2 hours (do not put it in the fridge).

While the mung bean noodles are cooling down, you can make the sauce. In a microwaveable bowl, scoop up one tablespoon of peanut butter:

Then add about 3 tablespoons of water:

Microwave these two together until the peanut butter and water are mixed together. Next, add the soy sauce and apple cider vinegar:

And finally the sesame oil:

Stir the sauce until everything is incorporated and set the sauce aside.

When the noodles have cooled down, slice the mung bean noodles – first with a knife to get them out of the pan and then with a crinkle cutter:

The crinkle cutter is definitely optional, but it adds a cute design to the noodles. After you cut up the noodles, place them in the serving container. Julienne an English cucumber (don’t use a regular cucumber because the seeds make the cucumber too watery). Place the English cucumber on top of the mung bean noodles and then add the chicken:

Finally, pour the sauce on top of the chicken:

When you bring the dish to the table, you can mix all of the ingredients together (but be careful – the mung bean noodles break easily!)