Thai Peanut Noodles

Sometimes I don't know what to make. I stand in my kitchen like a lost puppy, wondering what on early I'm going to have for dinner. And on occasional lucky days, I decide on something not yet conquered by me.

Peanut sauce can be intimidating for me. I talked about this in my Peanut Butter Curry post, but when I made a peanut sauce the first time, it was so overwhelmingly strong in peanut butter that it was like a thinned out jar or the salty spread over pasta. Not ideal!

My next attempt, many moons later, was the curry. That one was a success, and I was renewed in the idea.

This dish, though, was actually inspired by a cashew sauce. Not because peanut and cashew sauce are the same by any means, but rather I did not have the tools in my kit to make a cashew sauce, but I did have the necessary bits to make a sister recipe with peanuts.

Everything kind of fell into place when I popped open the fridge and found some tofu just lying in wait for me to snatch up. So order number one was pressing the tofu.

Generally speaking, I marinate tofu in soy sauce and apple cider vinegar for a bit after pressing to attempt more of a "meaty" flavor. This time, I just pressed it by placing it with paper towels above and below it and putting a heavy pan on top, then sliced it. I cooked the plain tofu in oil for a couple minutes on each side, then set it aside. I knew in this case, the sauce would have plenty of flavor and compensate for the plain tofu.

I'd recently had a minor surgery on my hand, which is part of why there's a gap in posts. This meant that slicing tofu was one thing, but cutting a bunch of veggies was a whole other ballgame. Fortunately, I tend to keep frozen veggies on hand for just those moments when slicing and dicing just ain't gonna happen, so I busted out some carrots, cauliflower, onions, and sweet peppers and began lightly sautéing them in my skillet. I mixed the peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, honey, ginger, vinegar, sesame oil, Sriracha and crushed red pepper in a bowl then poured it over and let the veggies cook. I also added some cilantro. Meanwhile, I was boiling some sweet potato starch noodles (though really rice noodles would work the same). I let the veggies soften a bit in the sauce, then returned the tofu to the pan and mixed in the noodles and some chopped green onion.

And that was that. The final topping is some crushed peanuts if desired.

The consistency of the sauce was thin enough to lightly coat the noodles and the quantity was spot on - no soupy dish here.

This turned out really nice. I have to give a shout out to frozen vegetables. They stay crispy but preserve so nicely and make last minute cooking a breeze. Admittedly, a day after hand surgery, I was pretty impressed and how easy this really was. And how damn good! The peanut butter flavor was light but present and the spice was also faint. For spicy fans, double or triple up on the sriracha - someone I shared this with did and said this dish was fantastic. All in all, glad to add a simple recipe to the mix for a quick weeknight meal.

Thai Peanut Noodles Recipe

Ingredients:

1 block tofu 

2 cups sweet potato starch noodles

1 tablespoon cooking oil

2 carrots, sliced thin

1/4 cup chopped broccoli

1/4 cup chopped cauliflower (I used a frozen mix of veggies to get all of them)

1/4 cup sliced onion

1/4 cup sliced sweet pepper 

2 green onions, sliced thin

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (2 teaspoons if using dried)

2 tablespoons chopped peanuts 

1/4 cup peanut butter 

1/4 cup soy sauce 

3 cloves garlic, minced 

2 tablespoons honey 

1 tablespoon grated ginger 

1 tablespoon rice vinegar 

1 teaspoon sesame oil 

1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce, optional

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Instructions:

Drain tofu and set block on plate with paper towels underneath. Place a paper towel on top and set a medium pot on top as weight. Let tofu sit for about 30 minutes to press excess liquid out. In a large skillet, add cooking oil and heat to medium. Cut tofu into cubes and cook in oil for 5-7 minutes on each side, until browned, then remove from pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, honey, ginger, vinegar, sesame oil, Sriracha and crushed red pepper. In a large pot of boiling water, add potato starch noodles and cook for about 6 minutes, until softened. Add some more oil to the pan if needed, then add veggies and cook for 3-5 minutes, until slightly softened. Pour sauce over veggies in pan, then add cilantro and stir. Heat until sauce simmers, then return tofu to pan and stir in pasta. Serve.

adapted from thai peanut chicken noodles