Thai Peanut Noodles is a flavoursome, lip smacking asian style recipe made by tossing rice noodles with nutty, sweet and spicy peanut sauce. It is vegan, gluten free, easy & quick dinner recipe which can be prepared in less than 20 minutes.
I tasted these spicy peanut sauce noodles on my trip to Koh Phi Phi (Thailand) and instantly fell in love with them. They had a just the right amount of nuttiness with sweet-spicy taste and are definitely a treat for peanut lovers.
You just need a handful of ingredients from your pantry to make this easy simple peanut sauce. The recipe is quite flexible as you can always adjust the spiciness or sweetness as per your choice. These peanut noodles are so effortless to prepare and is a perfect quick dinner recipe on a busy day.
Ingredients for peanut sauce noodles:
Noodles: As I wanted to keep this recipe gluten free I have used ‘blue elephant’ brand rice noodles (you can use any brand of your choice). You can also use brown rice noodles, soba noodles, udon noodles or pasta like spaghetti or fettuccine too.
Vegetables: The best part about this easy peanut noodles recipe is the flexibility to add any veggies of your choice. Here I have added ginger, garlic, carrots & bell peppers but you can even add some broccoli (blanched), french beans, mushrooms, purple cabbage, red or yellow bell peppers, crispy tofu or paneer (Indian cottage cheese).
Peanut Butter: It is the key ingredients for making peanut sauce. You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter for it. The peanut butter I have used is unsalted & unsweetened. If you are using sweetened or salted one then don’t add too much of salt or sweetener in beginning. Adjust it after tasting the sauce.
Sauces: Soy sauce, sriracha, vinegar adds flavour and heat to the sauce. If you like less spicy food or making this peanut noodles for kids then skip adding sriracha.
Sweetener: You can use honey, maple syrup or brown sugar as sweetener in sauce. In the end it all comes down to the balance of sweet sour & spicy flavours of peanut sauce.
Oil: Use any cooking oil of your choice like sesame, coconut or olive oil.
How to make peanut sauce noodles?
The three components of peanut noodles are- peanut sauce, sautéed vegetables and rice noodles.
Boiling the noodles- We begin with boiling the noodles as per the packet instructions. By the time our noodles are boiling, we will sauté the veggies and prepare the sauce.
Sautéing Veggies- Ginger and garlic are essential in this recipe. They are used in quite less quantity but pack so much flavour & punch. First we will sauté ginger-garlic & then add rest of the vegetables. We will keep these sautéed vegetables aside and in the same pan prepare our peanut sauce.
Preparing Peanut Sauce– To prepare peanut sauce we will add little bit of water in same pan to bring down its temperature and then proceed by adding peanut butter, soy sauce and sriracha etc to make our peanut butter sauce.
Toss the boiled noodles & sautéed vegetables in this sauce. Finally garnish with roasted sesame seeds and crushed peanuts for additional crunchiness. Some freshly chopped spring onions and a squeeze of lemon works wonders in adding freshness to them.
Are peanut noodles vegan?
Yes, this it is absolutely vegan!! You can add more vegetables or protein like crispy tofu to these peanut noodles. I even sometimes skip noodles and use this peanut sauce as salad dressing.
More asian vegan recipes:
- Thai Red Curry
- Sweet Sour Tofu
- Vegetable Noodle Soup
- Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Vegetable Rice Paper Rolls
Ingredients: (Serves 2)
- Rice Noodles- 120 grams (4 oz)
- Water- For boiling noodles
- Cooking Oil- 2 tsp
- Ginger (grated)- 1 tsp
- Garlic cloves (minced)- 3 to 4
- Carrots (julienne)- 1/3 cup
- Bell Pepper (julienne)- 1/3 cup
- For Peanut Sauce:
- Peanut Butter-1/4 cup (unsalted)
- Water- 2 to 3 tsp
- Soy Sauce- 1/2 tbsp
- Vinegar / Rice Vinegar- 3/4 tbsp
- Sriracha Sauce- 1 tbsp
- Brown Sugar / Honey- 1 tsp
- Red Chilli Flakes- 1/2 tsp
- Salt- 1/2 tsp (to taste)
- For Garnishing:
- Chopped Spring Onions Greens- 1 tbsp
- Roasted sesame seeds- 1 tsp (optional)
- Crushed Roasted Peanuts- 2 tsp
Notes:
- You can use creamy peanut butter variety or if you like to have some crunch you can use crunchy peanut butter too.
- Adjust the spiciness in this recipe as per your taste.
- If you would like to have more creaminess in these peanut noodles, feel free to add a splash of coconut milk.
Directions:
Step 1:
In a big pan or pot, boil 2-3 litres of water and add rice noodles to it. Let them cook for 8-10 minutes (or as mentioned on packet instructions). By the time noodles are boiling let’s move to next step.
Step 2:
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add minced garlic and grated ginger to it. Sauté for 30-40 seconds.
Step 3:
In the same pan, add all the chopped veggies here and sauté for 1-2 minutes on medium-high flame while stirring in between. We will not overcook the veggies as we want them to be crunchy. Transfer these veggies in a bowl and keep aside.
Step 4:
In the same pan, first add 2-3 tsp water and then peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, honey (or sugar) salt, chilli flakes. Mix well and simmer for a minute. Switch off the flame. Taste & adjust salt or honey / sugar as per your taste.
Step 5:
Rice noodles must have cooked by this time. Transfer them on a colander and rinse with cold water (This prevents them from clumping).
Step 6:
Add these boiled noodles, sautéed veggies to the peanut sauce. Mix well with the help of a tong or fork. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds / crushed peanuts or chopped spring onions before serving.
How to store leftovers?
You can store leftover peanut sauce noodles in an airtight container in fridge. Before reheating, add a splash of water and microwave for 30-50 seconds.
Can I make these peanut noodles well before the serving time?
If you are planning to serve these noodles after few hours, I would recommend to boil the noodles and prepare the sauce in advance but don’t mix them. Mix the noodles, sautéed veggies and peanut sauce just before serving. As the noodles soak up all the sauce if kept for too long, it is better to mix them a few minutes right before the serving.
Pin for later:
Kitchen Products Used:
- Rice Noodles : https://amzn.to/3tS8TNY
- Sriracha Sauce: https://amzn.to/3bsmh5b
- Peanut Butter : https://amzn.to/3fe32yI
If you try this spicy peanut noodles recipe & share pics on social media, then don’t forget to tag on Facebook, Instagram or use #kuchpakrahahai.
Let’s stay connected
Facebook| Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube
Anonymous
I tried this recipe and it turned out perfect👍
Divya
Thank you for trying out the recipe & sharing your feedback here.Glad to know you liked it 🙂