Using Your Noodle - The Best Peanut Sauce You Have Ever Tasted

 Hello everyone.  How are you?  Are you getting along okay? I hope so.

When I was contemplating which recipes I should share in this medium, holy grail dishes sprang to mind. By, "holy grail" I am referring to the handful of recipes in my repertoire which yield outstanding results on a consistent basis.  Recipes that my friends and family clamor for.  At the top of the list is peanut noodles, a dish Steve has asked me to make more than any other.  

As you may have observed if you read any of my previous posts, I am on a bit of a bowl food kick. This one has the advantage of not only being served in one vessel, it is prepared all in one pan (minus the peanut sauce, which you can make head), thereby minimizing washing up

I have never met a peanut sauce I did not like.  However, some are definitely better than others.  Some peanut sauces are bland and claggy, others overly sweet and lacking in acidity. I try to refrain from hyperbole but I can confidently say that the peanut sauce recipe I am divulging here today is THE BEST. There, I said it.  I am throwing down the peanut gauntlet to the peanut gallery.  

As with other bowl recipes, you can make tweaks to this and it will still be good, but there is one caveat. I am bossy about this.  YOU MUST, I repeat, YOU MUST use the whole three tablespoons of minced ginger specified in the recipe.. Ginger is what gives this peanut sauce essential piquant flavor and you will not yield the same result without it.  The ingredient list for this recipe may seem long but, if you regularly incorporate Asian flavors in your cooking repertoire, (and if you don't, you should!) you will probably have everything you need in your pantry already and, anyway, I can guarantee you are going to want to make this more than once. I adapted this from an original recipe from Bob Blumer, The Surreal Gourmet. Over time, I continued to make tweaks to make it even better. I believe it has reached its apotheosis.  

When  I make peanut noodle, I usually add protein and a vegetable to this to make it a complete meal. Here, you can be flexible. I have topped my peanut noodle with char sui pork (available by the pound in Chinatown, duck would also be amazing), sauteed prawns, pan fried tofu.   For a vegetable I typically add chopped sauteed baby bok or thinly sliced ribbons of napa cabbage. Blanched sugar peas or flash fried broccoli would be equally good and would provide a pleasing textural contrast between crunchy veg and soft slippery noodles.  If you really want to make it easy on yourself, just stir in a cupful of frozen green peas at the end.  It all works.  

For the noodle component, Bob's original recipe featured Soba noodles. I use rice noodles as I love their texture and I do not have to cook them. I merely have to boil a kettle and pour hot water over the noodles, soaking them until they are almost tender (leave them a bit underdone as they will finish cooking in the pan). But you could certainly use either soba noodles or fresh Chinese wheat noodles if you prefer.

                                                        PEANUT NOODLE BOWL

Serves 4

Approximately 1 lb rice noodles (approx 1"8 to 1"4 inch width. Do not use rice vermicelli as it will be too delicate. You could, alternately use, Chinese Wheat noodles, Soba or even spaghetti if you prefer)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tsp hot sauce (sriracha or sambel oelek work great but any hot sauce will do)

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp fish sauce (if you are vegan/vegetarian use a bit more soy instead)

3 tbsp rice wine vinegar (seasoned or unseasoned)

1/4 cup brown sugar (any type, light, dark or palm sugar can be used)

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp minced ginger (DO NOT SKIMP ON THE GINGER)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice (or more to taste, I like it limey!)

4 green onions, finely sliced

2-3 tbsp chopped roasted salted peanuts

1 lb Veggie of your choice (optional) baby bok choy, broccoli florets, frozen peas, or thinly sliced ribbons of napa cabbage all work great.

Protein of your choice (optional) - pan fried tofu, Chinese bbq pork, prawns, all work great. I use about 1/4 lb per person

1. Put a kettle on to boil.  Place uncooked rice noodles in a large bowl.  When kettle boils, pour contents over the rice noodles and leave to soak until they still have a little bit of bite. Drain but be sure to RESERVE 1/2 CUP NOODLE COOKING WATER.

2. Place peanut butter, hot sauce, sesame oil, soy, fish sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, lime juice and the half cup of hot noodle water into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. ps: You could mince the cilantro stems and add them to the blender.  

3. In a saute pan or wok over medium heat. Add a glug of oil. Pan fry your prawns or tofu until cooked to your liking. (If you are using a protein that is already cooked, you can skip this step) Remove the protein from the pan and put aside.  

4. Add another glug of oil to the pan. Saute your chosen veggie until tender crisp.  Remove vegetables from pan.

5. Add a glug of oil. Add cooked noodles to wok/pan. Add peanut sauce. Stir everything to combine. Add a little extra water if necessary to loosen things up.  Add back in  your protein and vegetables.  Once everything is heated through add the chopped scallions and chopped cilantro.

6. Divide into bowls.  Sprinkle each portion with chopped peanuts.  Serve with lime wedges.

As I am not great at planning ahead, I have yet to do this but you may wish to double the peanut sauce quantities and freeze half for further meals. This peanut sauce would be useful in many applications. You could use it as a dip for tofu or spring rolls or dollop it on to pan fried chicken or steak. You could even use it as a salad dressing or as a dip for crudites.  

Also, if you want this quick on a weeknight, make the sauce a day or two before (it will keep at least week in the fridge). Then all you have to do is soak the noodles and assemble everything.

I hope you enjoy this if you try it.  If you have any questions let me know! Take care everyone. Until next time. xoxo