Curry peanut noodles with whatever protein you have

Name: Curry peanut noodles with whatever protein you have
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 12 oz extra firm tofu, or 10 oz chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces; 8 oz lo mein noodles; 10 oz baby bok choy, thinly sliced; 2 carrots, thinly sliced on an angle; 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped; 1 lime, halved; 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter; 1 tbsp yellow curry paste (Mae Ploy, and it is saltier than it looks. Salt at the end, not the start); 1 tbsp sambal oelek; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tsp brown sugar; 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds; neutral oil, salt, pepper

Four things whisked in a bowl, done before the noodles are.

At a Glance

Time

40 min

Serves

Story

Peanut butter will not go into a cold sauce without seizing into gritty lumps. Whisk it with the warm water first, on its own, until it loosens to the consistency of cream, and only then add the soy, curry paste and sambal. The order is the whole trick and nobody ever writes it down.

Ingredients

12 oz extra firm tofuor 10 oz chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
8 oz lo mein noodles
10 oz baby bok choythinly sliced
2 carrotsthinly sliced on an angle
2 cloves garlicroughly chopped
1 limehalved
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1 tbsp yellow curry pasteMae Ploy, and it is saltier than it looks. Salt at the end, not the start
1 tbsp sambal oelek
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
neutral oilsalt, pepper

Method

One curry paste, not a shelf of powders. Tofu is the original, chicken is what gets cooked here, and either behaves the same way.

Water on to boil. Slice the carrots and bok choy, chop the garlic, halve the lime.
Whisk the peanut butter with ¼ cup of warm water until smooth. Then in with the soy, brown sugar, curry paste, sambal and as much lime juice as you like.
Drain and dry the tofu properly, then dice. Fry in a thin layer of oil over medium high, 4 to 5 minutes undisturbed, then 4 to 5 minutes more, turning, until browned all over. Salt it the moment it leaves the pan. Wipe the pan. (Chicken: sear the same way, 6 to 8 minutes total.)
Noodles in, 2 to 4 minutes to tender. Drain and rinse warm so they stop sticking. Back into the pot.
Carrots into the pan, 2 to 3 minutes undisturbed. Bok choy, 1 to 2 minutes. Garlic, 2 to 3 minutes more.
Everything into the noodle pot with the sauce. Over medium high, tossed constantly, 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens onto the strands.
Sesame seeds.