Every week, I make a menu plan for dinners for the following week. I usually try to do this on Thursday or Friday so that I can do the grocery shopping over the weekend and be prepared for the upcoming week. Sometimes, if I’m feeling uninspired, I ask Joe if he has any requests, and he frequently replies, “Peanut noodles.”
One of the first recipes I blogged was this Ground Pork with Spicy Peanut Noodles. Ever since then, it has been one of Joe’s most-requested meals. It was also the first meal I made where I realized that I could make food that was just like my favorite restaurants but far healthier and cheaper. Peanut noodles can, however, be a bit of a calorie-bomb, so I entrusted this go-round to Eating Well.
This was not my favorite variety of peanut noodles taste-wise. It was slightly on the bland side, which was partially my fault for diluting the sauce too much with cooking water. But this meal came together extremely quickly. Joe hardly had time to defrost some grilled chicken to add to his before it was done. Plus, I also usually have everything on hand to make this. So while the taste won’t knock you out of the water, the speed and ease of this dish makes it a valuable addition to the repertoire.
Peanut Noodles with Vegetables
source: Eating Well
Yields 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chile-garlic sauce, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
- 1 12-16 oz bag frozen vegetable stir-fry medley, such as carrots, broccoli, snow peas
Preparation
- Put a large pot of water on to boil for cooking pasta.
- Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chile-garlic sauce and ginger in a large bowl.
- Cook pasta in the boiling water until not quite tender, about 1 minute less than specified in the package directions. Add vegetables and cook until the pasta and vegetables are just tender, 1 minute more. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Rinse the pasta and vegetables with cool water to refresh. Stir the reserved cooking liquid into the peanut sauce; add the pasta, vegetables and chicken; toss well to coat. Serve warm or chilled.
