Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles
We put our own spin on peanut sauce for these Thai inspired peanut noodles. They're a bit spicy, with loads of flavor and texture thanks to the peanuts, cilantro, soy, and sesame.
Servings 4 servings
Calories 642kcal
Ingredients
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- 1/3 cup sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes more or less, to taste
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup peanuts
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package directions.
- While noodles are cooking, heat the sesame oil and red pepper flakes over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Do not let the oil smoke. If it does smoke, it's burnt and you'll need to start over with fresh oil.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer, discarding the pepper flakes and saving the oil. Stir the soy sauce, honey, and peanut butter into the oil until smooth and creamy.
- When noodles have finished cooking, reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water and drain the rest. Toss the noodles in the oil mixture.
- Stir the noodles well to coat in the sauce, adding a bit of pasta water as needed to loosen it up to your liking.
- Toss with the peanuts, green onions, and cilantro.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Oil: Be sure you do not burn the oil. If it begins to smoke, toss it and start over or it will add a burnt flavor to the dish.
Spice: The dish is fairly spicy as is. Reduce the red pepper flakes if desired.
Protein: We sometimes add leftover rotisserie chicken to this dish as an easy way to add protein. Shelled edamame are also delicious tossed in here. We also use protein spaghetti. This brand tastes and feels just like traditional pasta and is one of my favorite ways to add extra protein to dinner.
Soy Sauce: Regular soy sauce will work great here, but if you have dark soy sauce on hand, add a tablespoon or two of that in place of the soy sauce. It adds such a nice deep color to the noodles and really gives this a take out vibe.
Nutrition
Calories: 642kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 787mg | Potassium: 417mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 723IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 3mg