The plan was to cook up some boneless chicken thighs to have on hand for lunches or a quick meal, or for incorporating into other dishes such as this noodle salad. I love noodles enough to be able to eat them leftover, day after day, for lunch or dinner.

I used udon noodles, but wish I would have used fresh ramen noodles instead. But I went with what I had. The chile-scallion oil is quick and easy to make, and makes more than enough for four servings – in fact, most of it is still in a jar in my fridge. It’s not a bad thing to have at the ready, anyway.

Crunchy radishes and cucumbers are a cooling foil to the heat of the oil, but I definitely added too much oil and Sichuan peppercorns to my first bowl. While I enjoyed the tingly buzz from the peppercorns, I don’t have a lot of tolerance for spicy food. By the time I finished lunch, my mouth was on fire. A bowl of full-fat yogurt to follow saved the day.

I’d make this again, even though it wasn’t out of this world great. But it’s satisfying and pretty tasty, and nice to have waiting at a time when I’m not up for making myself something to eat.

• Noodle Salad with Chicken and Chile-Scallion Oil (Bon Appetit)