Spicy Peanut Noodles

These yummy noodles are a bit addictive. My mom used to make them for our family when I was younger. Then in high school it was one of the first (and only!) recipes I cooked myself. The noodles are based on a recipe from one of my mom's old Moosewood cookbooks. I tried to find the exact recipe online, but the one I found on the Moosewood website was a little different than I remembered, it doesn't have garlic or ginger. So I improvised a little, adding the minced garlic and ginger as well as some honey to balance out the salty/spicy flavors.


The recipe recommends serving the noodles at room temperature but I love them cold right out of the fridge. I like to make the noodles with thin spaghetti but I'm sure soba, lo mein or other Asian type noodles would work great as well. Last week I used Angel Hair pasta, it was tasty, but ended up a little too saucy because the noodles were so thin. Also be careful with the garlic, when it's raw it can get really strong very quickly.

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Spicy Peanut Noodles

by Aubrey Dunnuck November-17-2009

Spicy, creamy peanut noodles are quick and delicious, perfect for feeding a crowd.

Ingredients

1 pound Spaghetti, or other long noodly pasta 1/2 cup Peanut Butter 1/2 cup Hot Pasta Water 6 tablespoons Low Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce 4 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar 2 tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil 2 tablespoons Honey 2 teaspoons Sriracha 1-2 cloves Garlic, minced 1 tablespoon Ginger, grated Tasty Add Ins chopped/crushed peanuts fresh sprouts cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into crescent slices bell pepper, cut into strips radishes, thinly sliced carrot, grated or julienned chopped scallions or chives toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sriracha, garlic, ginger and sesame oil. You could also buzz this up in a blender or food processor (and you wouldn't need to pre-mince/grate the garlic or ginger) for a really smooth sauce.   Cook the pasta to al dente in salted boiling water. Reserve some pasta water for the sauce then drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Add pasta water to the sauce a little at a time until it is smooth, but not too watery. Toss the noodles with the sauce. Chill or let noodles come to room temperature before serving.

Top with extra veggies, sesame seeds etc, if desired. I like to add extra stuff as I serve the noodles, not mixed into bowl. If you add them with the sauce they turn brown and aren't particularly attractive. Because the recipe makes a lot of pasta, I always have tons of leftovers and it's best with crispy, fresh veggies.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 25 mins Yield: 4-6 servings