Did They Eat It: Peanut Noodles

It's kind of hard to write about food after you've had a round of stomach flu. Everything just seems to go back to that, which is unfortunate because this was really good. So let's pretend I didn't make this the day after I spent the night crying at God!

I am a big fan of peanut noodles and am always trying new versions. I picked this one because it was super easy and used ingredients I had on hand. This is a Family Fun recipe you can find here.

You may notice how light the pictures are and that's not because there is sun at dinner time around here. I made this ahead of time because this is meant to be served at room temperature.

Begin by toasting your sesame seeds. Funny story about this Calphalon non-stick omelette pan. We both got one when we worked at Crate And Barrel and as Calphalon hoped (even before knowing I would one day be a blogger) it's a pretty great pan. It has seasoned very well and is still incredibly sturdy after about 15 years of regular use.

Here's the sesame seeds when they're toasted. Hello pretties you smell so good.

Next you want to peel and grate your ginger. Did you know you can use a spoon to peel ginger? I'm glad you asked, you can!

Another amusing (to me) Crate and Barrel story! We had a wall of gadgets at the store and one of my jobs when I started was to keep the gadget wall stocked. We had some pretty stupid gadgets, like the cake tester, which in regular homes people call A TOOTHPICK.

We always laughed pretty hard at the Ginger Grater, but after spending 20 minutes with a cake tester (TOOTHPICK) cleaning ginger strings out of my microplane you may want to consider a ceramic ginger grater. (Even though my 19 year old self would have laughed at you for buying it.) (Don't buy a cake tester though.)

Grate the ginger and crush a clove of garlic.
Here's how you do that if you don't have a specific gadget for that, which I don't. (Remember my 19 year old self scoffs at that sort of waste!)
Add ginger, garlic, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and peanut butter to a medium bowl.
When I look at this I think, "Okay Family Fun, this isn't going to end up being one sauce. Good one!"

But guess what? With some vigorous mixing with a whisk, you get a sauce!

The recipe says to add your toasted sesame seeds to the top of your peanut sauce coated noodles, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and put my seeds in the sauce. I'm crazy!

Either way, cook the angel hair pasta while you're making the sauce. The idea is to have the noodles room temperature but mine were a little warm when I added the peanut sauce, I made it early (around 4pm) so it was room temperature by the time we ate it.

The recipe calls for grated carrot, green onions, cucumber and chopped peanuts. I only cut up a cucumber for the kids (they both love them) and green onions for my portion.

Did They Eat It?

Logan: "I like it. Could use protein but I'm happy!"
Maddie: "Well as you know me liking every SINGLE THING ON THIS doesn't mean I'll eat it." Ate a few bites, ate the rest of the chopped cucumbers.
Max: "This is 'weird'." (Whoever told Max food tastes weird can kiss my ass. Thanks!)
Melissa: "I like this, ate it for lunch for two days after. Definitely a light dinner but has it's place. I would probably add some red pepper flakes to Logan and I's serving." 

Again the entire recipe is here.

Comments

[Sara]

Yum. I would grill a chicken breast or two to top this off. I've been *trying* to use less protein but in the end, everyone is happier when there is some.

I might make this today for lunch for me!

[ella]

That looks good and easy. That's my kind of recipe. I'm going to make it and add chicken.

[Kizz]

I am now wishing I could go back in time and make this last night so I could have it for lunch today.

[Irene]

Looks delicious! Would it be mean to eat this in front of my husband who all of a sudden has a nut allergy after eating them his entire life? Hmmm, I'm sure he'll understand.

[Meg]

I've made something similar to this with roomies when I was in undergrad. Broccoli is a great addition if the kiddos will eat it (and soaks up the sauce if you make it too thin). Chicken is also really good in this, especially if you let it all sit together for a while. Lean protein that will help you feel full and balance the carbs in the noodles and veg.

Ginger grating trick: take a box grater, wrap in plastic wrap and grate over the fine side of the grater. The plastic wrap will hold up and you won't spend 20 minutes cleaning!

[sarah]

The least useful feedback I've had about food: "It tastes too strong." I understand strong coffee, but pizza? Chicken? Beef Jerky? Does not compute.

[Sara]

I'm always looking for new, delicious, quick things to make. I think I'll add this dish to my menu for next week. Thanks!

[Alyce]

I'm also fond of trying tons of recipes for peanut noodles/cold sesame noodles. I like your idea of adding some chili flake (or sriracha).

I like ginger but rarely have it on hand. Think this would stand up without it?

[Tina]

This is one of my favorite things to make in the summer, but I use the bottled sauce because I didn't know how to make it by hand! Thanks! I also grill chicken in the sauce and I add broccoli and carrots. I use rice noodles instead of angel hair, so I will have to try your version!

[Melissa Summers]

I really like ginger, but I wonder if you used some ground ginger if you'd get that zip?

[Stefanie]

You can buy bottled ginger paste instead of having to grate up ginger. Works better than ground ginger, and keeps well in the fridge.

Now I want peanut noodles.

[Tracy]

I wonder why it needs to be served at room temperature... seems like it would be pretty yummy when warm.

[Sadie at heyMamas]

Perfect for my vegetarian fam. Will try it!

Sadie at heymamas

[Beth]

Peanut noodles, yum! How do you keep your Fiesta dishes looking so nice?

[Rebecca]

I make something similar with whole wheat spaghetti which adds to the nutty flavor. For protein, tofu lends itself well. Broccoli and snow peas are other good veggies to add. Of course most of those things I just mentioned are probably anathema to some of your eaters. ;)

[Melissa Summers]

I always use Barilla Plus pasta as well. My kids don't like wheat pasta but they'll tolerate this kind and they can use all the protein they can get, specifically Madison.

[denise]

in the aisian aisle at the supermarket, you can buy a bottle of thai peanut sauce - it has a little heat to it. boil some chicken breast and cut into cubes, mix sauce and chicken with pasta - serve with pineapple on the side to balance out the spiciness.

[Vanessa]

This looks yummy - I think I'll make it this weekend, maybe with added tofu.

P.S. I test cakes with a piece of uncooked spaghetti. :)

[Stacy]

Ground spices really need to be heated in a little oil (or other fat) to release their fragrance/taste, but ground ginger wouldn't work in this. You can freeze ginger if you don't use it very often. If you like cilantro, sprinkle some on top.
I've never made this with regular pasta, only with rice noodles.

[Fearlan]

Have you ever asked your family what they might like to eat ?

[Melissa Summers]

Har har har.

Maddie "steak or pasta, plain. Every night."
Max, "I don't know pizza?"
Logan: "I cook on the weekends."

I feed them boring things or things we've already had on the days I don't write this feature, this is all about trying new stuff and expanding their tastebuds.

Sent from my iPhone with fat fingers on tiny keys.

[Cynthia]

This looks good and easy. My two requirements.

Also - for anyone who cares - ginger freezes really well. That's the only reason I always have it on hand.

[lynne]

I think I read once that ginger is easier to peel and grate when it is frozen.. but I could be remembering that wrong. At any rate, I've never planned ahead well enough to test this.

We moved far away from our favorite Chinese restaurant that used to serve a perfect peanut noodle dish with lightly fried tofu and steamed (not oversteamed) broccoli. I'm always looking for ways to try to duplicate it - thank you!

[Devorit]

Looks good . . .I'll try it . . .ginger is a lot easier to grate when it's frozen; I don't even peel it, just grate is with a Microplane grater right into the pot. Thanks for sharing!

[marymuses]

My mother-in-law gave me a cake tester for Christmas. I pulled it out of the stocking and did an inner "WTF?" and an outward "Wow, thanks, I don't have one of these yet!" It's in my kitchen now, but I still use toothpicks.

[monica]

Yum! LOVE anything peanut-related. I bet it would be just as good served hot, too. Maybe with some chopped water chestnuts.

[Lindsey]

That recipe totally reminds me of the Tempting Thai Chicken from my favorite cookbook, Desperation Dinners. A few different ingredients in the sauce, uses rice noodles, and adds chicken. It's divine: recipe linked here

[christy]

I am the only one in my house who loves peanut noodles, and I continue to make them just to torture my poor family. I'm a bitch like that.

I can see making this and adding in leftover rotisserie chicken. Om nom nom.

[retromom]

I use soba noodles and cilantro. Adding a little hot water to the sauce makes it easier to blend.

[Ashlee]

This reminds me of my favorite cooking light recipe: Spicy Soba Noodles with chicken in peanut sauce. Here's the link:http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=665587

I use matchstick carrots and sometimes jarred fresh ginger to save time.