Asian peanut butter noodles
Peanut butter noodles are among the most famous of Asia's fast dishes.
The traditional Chinese sesame-peanut sauce in its simplest home translation: a jar of peanut butter meets soy and ginger to make the quarter-hour dinner that swept the internet's fast recipes.
Boil the noodles according to the package and reserve a cup of their cooking water before draining. That starchy water is what turns the peanut butter into a silky sauce instead of a sticky paste.
In a bowl, whisk the peanut butter with the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and chili, thinning it with the hot cooking water one spoonful at a time. Before your eyes it transforms from a thick paste into a golden-brown sauce that flows like cream.
Return the hot noodles to their pot, pour over the sauce, and toss with two tongs until every strand is coated, adding a splash more cooking water if it tightens.
Cold cucumber sticks, green onion, and sesame over the creamy heat. The contrast of temperature and crunch is what makes this dish bigger than its simplicity: a flash Asian dinner in a quarter of an hour.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar, while the glycemic load (GL) measures how much a full serving raises it. Together they give the complete picture.
A low value (≤55) means a gradual rise in blood sugar — the most suitable range for diabetes and insulin resistance.
Glycemic load reflects the impact of the full serving. To lower it: take half a serving, or pair the recipe with a source of protein and fiber.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet per FDA food-label reference values — your daily needs may be higher or lower. Values are derived from the recipe's ingredients via the USDA database.
The most common problems when preparing Asian Peanut Butter Noodles, and how to fix them:
The water was poured in all at once. Whisk in one spoonful at a time, and the smoothing-out comes by the third spoonful, so don't despair.
It's the nature of starch and peanut butter together. A splash of hot water stirred in restores its flow, and it's eaten within its quarter hour.
Generous honey over already-sweetened butter. Use pure peanut butter (like our jar) or drop the honey when the commercial one is sweetened.
Regular soy sauce. The low-sodium one is half our recipe, and the vinegar and cucumber break the rest.
At the silkiness of its sauce. Its quarter hour is its peak.
One day, and it is eaten cold in the summery Asian style with full dignity.
The sauce separates into granules.
| Original Ingredient | Tested Substitute | Ratio | Flavor Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peanut butter | Tahini | 1:1 | The original Chinese sesame noodles. For peanut allergy |
| The noodles | Spaghetti or rice noodles | 1:1 | Every strand carries the sauce |
| Adding protein | Shredded chicken or a fried egg on top | ~ | A complete meal in minutes |
| The cold cucumber | Shredded cabbage or carrot | 1:1 | The cold crunch swaps out |
| Ingredient | 2 servings | 1 serving | 4 servings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noodles | 200 g | 100 g | 400 g |
| Peanut butter | 60 g | 30 g | 120 g |
| Soy sauce | 30 ml | 15 ml | 60 ml |
Thin the peanut butter with the hot cooking water one spoonful at a time, whisking between each addition. The thick butter resists, then suddenly yields into a silky sauce; pour the water in all at once and you harvest clumps floating in brown water.
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