Spicy Peanut Noodles

Introduction to Peanut Butter Garlic Noodles

Ditch your plain old ramen and make these peanut butter garlic noodles instead! If you’re craving something rich, creamy, spicy, and satisfying, this is the dish for you. The peanut butter not only adds a lot of richness to the flavor of this dish, but adds a solid bit of protein that will keep you full.

Because these noodles are packed with flavor, I typically make a smaller portion and treat them as more of an appetizer dish. Also, the great part about this spicy peanut garlic sauce is that you can put it on anything! Mix it in with your ramen, use it as a dipping sauce for your summer rolls, or drizzle it on top of some pan-seared tofu! This means you can serve it hot or cold. So it’s the perfect sauce to make a big batch of and keep in your fridge to use all week long.

Breakdown of the Ingredients:

Peanut Sauce

The elements of this sauce are pretty simple but the flavor is complex and delicious. Also, even though this is a peanut sauce, you can really substitute any nut butter here. In particular, I really love Trader Joe’s cashew butter in this recipe – it’s amazing. I’m sure almond butter would work well too.

But, regardless of what nut butter you use, make sure you break it down and emulsify it using hot water. Peanut butter, in particular, is very thick. And the liquid from the soy and rice vinegar won’t be enough to break it down. So, you will definitely need to add some heat.

The rest of the ingredients here are pretty standard. Sriracha and chili flakes will add some spice and can be adjusted to your preference. But, keep in mind that sriracha will also add salt to the sauce. So I recommend reaching for the chili flakes first if you’re craving more spice.

For the sweet element, I love using honey here. But if you don’t have any on hand, maple syrup or sugar can work well too. But if you’re using sugar, you’ll need to heat the sauce thoroughly to help the sugar dissolve.

• Hot water
• Peanut butter
• Sriracha 
• Red chili flakes 
• Soy
• Honey
• Rice vinegar

Additional Ingredients

The best part of this recipe is how simple it is. All you need to do is cook your ramen and then in a separate skillet sauté some garlic add your sauce in. For the finishing touches I love garnishing with some Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning (“EBTB”) and some scallions.

It might seem a little strange to EBTB for a noodle dish but trust me, it’s great. It’s basically just a combination of salt, garlic, and black and white sesame seeds. And all of these flavors pair well with these noodles. Plus, it certainly makes the presentation look more appealing too!

• Canola oil
• Garlic
• Ramen
• Extra water (as needed)
• Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning (optional)
• Scallions (for garnish)

Process + Keys to Success:

• In a bowl, mix your hot water with your peanut butter to emulsify. This will make it easier for the peanut butter to mix in with the other sauce ingredients.
• Next, add in your sriracha, soy sauce, rice vinegar, red chili flakes, and honey and mix together well.
• Cook one packet of ramen according to package instructions. (Usually takes under 5 minutes).
• While the noodles are cooking, sauté your garlic in oil on medium heat for about 20 seconds and add in about 1/2 of the sauce you made earlier (or to preference). I had about 1 full cup of sauce so I use half a cup per serving.
• Turn the heat to low, and cook the sauce for about a minute and then add in your noodles.
• You can also add some extra water to help the sauce emulsify further and coat the noodles a little easier.
• Finish by garnishing with green onions and TJ’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning! If you don’t have that, you can use a combo of salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and sesame seeds (those are the main ingredients in the TJ’s seasoning).

Protein + Veggies:

I like to eat this as a quick ten-minute dish so I usually don’t take the time to sauté any veggies or protein. However, you can certainly add some in you’d like to! I think this dish would pair well with bell peppers, cabbage, shredded carrots, and tofu. Some fresh bean sprouts on top would also add a nice touch of crispness!

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