A few weeks ago Steve and I stopped at an Asian grocery that we enjoy going to, to load up on coconut milk, curry pastes, and different kinds of noodles. Always trying to eat out of the pantry before loading it up again, I wanted to use up a package of rice noodles. I also made sure the last time I bought peanut butter to buy a smooth variety, since we usually get the chunky kind, as a possible peanut sauce-making ingredient.
I found a recipe for peanut sauce in Vegan Vittles, an old cookbook of mine from college, but tweaked it a bit by adding a few extra teaspoons of soy sauce. I also used an unsalted peanut butter, but I think it would have been better with a salted one.
Vegetarian Peanut Noodles
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed (I used three chopped garlic scapes)
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste
- 2/3 to 3/4 cup water or vegetable broth
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add enough water or broth to make a fairly thick sauce.
Either steam or sauté your choice of chopped vegetables. I used:
- 1/2 onion
- 1/2 red pepper
- 1 zucchini
- 1/2 head of broccoli
- 1 carrot
- Handful sliced mushrooms
After veggies are cooked, pour the sauce on top, mix together, and heat on low. Cook the noodles according to the package directions.
In a bowl, place the cooked noodles at the bottom, top with the veggies and peanut sauce mixture, and add some whole or chopped peanut and crushed red pepper to your liking.
Here’s a scenario for you: You’re out at a Vietnamese restaurant. Chopsticks or fork?
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh yum, that looks so delicious!! Thank God my husband is about to make us stir fry tonight b/c now I'm really wanting some yummy asian cuisine!! I'd probably start out using chopsticks then give up and use a fork!
Those noodles sound great.
When slippery rice noodles are involved (as they often are at Vietnamese restaurants), I'm sad to say that I often resort to the fork. Lame, I know….but it would otherwise take me 5 years to finish my meal. Lol.
Chopsticks! Of course, I do want a fork as a back up LOL. Love peanut sauces. YUM
I always use chopsticks with some slurping action…ha.
Oh, and I adore peanut noodles…I may just have to make these with our abundance of noodles! I realized today when moving that we have way too much!
I bet this is awesome! I always start with chopsticks then end up just using my fork =P
I eat almost everything with chopsticks. It has helped me slow down and really enjoy each bite of food that I take. I love adding peanut butter to noodle dishes…so creamy and filling. Thanks for sharing another great recipe, love!
thats so awesome that u have the Vegan Vittles cookbook! i remember seeing it on Amazon.. i think it was amazon, but it had a few sample pages and from what i saw there looke like a lot of really good recipes.. ones that didnt seem to complicated either! reminds me a lot of Vegan with a Vengeance.
xoxo <3
oooh I am a big fan of rice noodles
I normally use a fork (I think?) when eating vietnamese…..
I'm always going to try the chopsticks until I look more like an idiot trying them than just using a fork, lol. I am pretty good with chunkier foods (pieces of chicken, veggies, etc.) and now rice, but noodles are HARD!
Yum! What a great dish!
Chopsticks, every time, though I'm horrible at using them!! I always mean to buy a pair to use at home so I can improve!
That recipe looks fantastic. But to me, you can stick peanut butter in almost anything and call it a day
And…chopsticks. Definitely chopsticks!
CHOPSTICKS!!! Even though I'm not always great with them…They are so fun and I like to dine the traditional way
. That food looks so amazing. I just had lunch and I could TOTALLY go for a bowl of that. Love me a good peanut sauce 
That does look filling, and really tasty! Yum!
I would say your dish sounds delicious, but my bias against peanuts prevents me from doing so
I blame the allergies, so don't be offended 
As for the chopsticks vs fork debate, it would really depend on who I was with. If it was someone with a lot of time and patience, then I'd go for the chopsticks, otherwise, fork would be my weapon of choice.
I love chopsticks; do you have your own personal pair? I think Vietnamese food might be hard to do with only chopsticks if they give you any food with broths etc. I've never understood how to eat salad with chopsticks
I love peanut noodles… this is such an easy quick recipe!