Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries

This is such a good, easy Peanut Sauce for stir fries and noodles. Anything you make with it is so tasty! Use with stir fry ingredients of choice using my “formula” – chicken, beef, prawns/shrimp, tofu or vegetarian.

I’m a big fan of peanut sauces, so there’s a few to choose from here! If you’re after a Peanut Sauce for dipping, use the sauce in this Thai Chicken Satay recipe. For a peanut salad dressing, use this Asian Peanut Salad Dressing. If you want a creamy Sesame Peanut Sauce, use the sauce in this Sesame  Peanut Noodles recipe.

Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries

This Peanut Sauce for stir fries is one of those gems that belies the short list of simple ingredients. It has depth of flavour and complexity that you find in restaurant peanut sauces yet is much more straight forward to make.

The satay and peanut sauce spectrum is broad – very broad – with variations all across the world, not just from Asia. In Australia, the most well known is probably Thai peanut sauce that are served with Thai satay skewers.

This one is not from any particular cuisine, though Australians will recognise it as similar to the Satay Peanut Sauce flavour served in Chinese restaurants, owing to the hint of curry flavour. It’s adapted from this Quick Satay Stir Fry, a gem of a recipe from a reader that I’ve made dozens of times since receiving it!

This is just a really great, simple Peanut Sauce that will make any stir fry or noodles really tasty!

The secret to really tasty Peanut Sauce

Contrary to popular believe, you do not need tons of peanut butter for a great peanut sauce for stir fries! In fact, a tasty peanut sauce comes down to the combination of other seasonings that makes this extra tasty:

• Fish Sauce – more depth of flavour than soy sauce or salt. Don’t worry, once cooked it doesn’t taste fishy!
• Soy sauce – I use dark soy for colour but light or all purpose is fine too.
• Peanut butter – commercial sweetened spread or natural unsweetened is fine here
• Curry powder – the secret ingredient in peanut satay sauces!
• Garlic and ginger – fresh is best!
• Cornflour/cornstarch – to thicken the sauce
• Sugar – for a touch of extra sweet

Use this peanut sauce for stir fries – or use it to make this stir fried Peanut Sauce Noodles!

This is the curry powder I use – Clive of India which is widely available in Australia at supermarkets. Yes, this is an Indian curry. It doesn’t really matter what type of curry powder you use because it’s just a subtle background flavour. I promise!

How to use this Peanut Sauce

To make a stir fry, you will need:

• 1 batch of Peanut Sauce

• 200g/7oz of chicken or other protein

• 4 cups of vegetables

Here’s the written recipe for the Peanut Stir Fry, if you would like a step by step and also there is a recipe video.

To make a NOODLE stir fry, you will need:

• DOUBLE batch of Peanut Sauce

• The stir fry ingredients above

• 100g/4 oz dried noodles OR 180g/6 oz fresh noodles (your choice what type – egg, rice, thin, thick)

Here’s the written recipe for the Peanut Noodle Stir Fry, if you would like a step by step and recipe video – pictured below.

Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x

For Peanut and Satay Sauce Fans!

I’m a big fan of peanut sauces and satay. Choose the one you’re after!

• Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce – use the sauce in this Thai Chicken Satay Skewers

• Indo / Bali Peanut Sauce – use the sauce in this Bali Chicken Satay

• Peanut Satay Curry Sauce – deep, complex flavours or a Malaysian satay sauce, see this Chicken Satay Curry. It’s basically Malaysian Satay chicken, in curry form rather than on skewers. ie loads and loads of satay sauce!!

• Asian Peanut Dressing for Salads – use the dressing in this Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Peanut Salad Dressing or the Satay Peanut Dressing in this Satay Chicken Noodle Salad.

• Creamy Sesame Peanut Sauce for noodles and noodle salads (warm and room temp) – use the sauce in this Sesame Peanut Noodles or this Noodle Salad with Creamy Sesame Peanut Dressing

Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries

Author: Nagi

Prep: 5 mins

Mains, Sauces

Asian

5 from 30 votes

Servings2 - 3 people

Tap or hover to scale

Print

• 30
• 3834

Recipe VIDEO above. A simple, really tasty peanut sauce to use in stir fries and noodles! Tastes like a Satay Peanut Sauce. To use, follow formula below or for full directions, use this Satay Peanut Chicken Stir Fry or this Stir Fried Noodles with Peanut Sauce recipe. Makes enough sauce for 2 - 3 people, a stir fry with rice, or stir fried noodles. 

Ingredients

Peanut Sauce

• ▢ 1 tbsp fish sauce (Note 1)
• ▢ 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• ▢ 2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
• ▢ 1 garlic clove , minced
• ▢ 1 tsp grated ginger
• ▢ 1 tsp curry powder (any type)
• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp / 30 g crunchy peanut butter, regular (Note 1)
• ▢ 3 tbsp water

TO USE THE SAUCE:

Stir Fry

• ▢ 1 SINGLE batch Peanut Sauce (above)
• ▢ 2 tbsp oil
• ▢ 1/2 onion, sliced
• ▢ 1 - 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced
• ▢ 180- 200g / 6 - 7 oz protein of choice, sliced
• ▢ 3 - 4 cups vegetables of choice, chopped / sliced as required and grouped by cooking time (Note 4)

Noodle Stir Fry - you will need

• ▢ DOUBLE batch Peanut Sauce (tap Servings & slide)
• ▢ Stir fry ingredients above
• ▢ 100g / 3.5 oz dried rice noodles OR 180g/6 oz fresh noodles of choice , prepared per packet

Garnish (optional):

• ▢ Finely chopped coriander / cilantro, crushed peanuts

Instructions

Peanut Sauce:

• Place all ingredients other than water in a bowl. Mix to combine. Then add water and mix again.

For STIR FRY:

• Heat oil in a skillet or wok over high heat. Add garlic and 1/2 sliced onion. Cook 1 minute.
• Add protein of choice or sliced tofu. Cook 2 minutes until just cooked.
• Add vegetables in order of time to cook, starting with the veggies that take the longer. Cook briefly until just cooked but still crisp.
• Add delicate veggies (eg bean sprouts, spinach and other leafy greens) and Sauce. Toss until Sauce thickens (add extra water if needed).
• Garnish with peanuts and coriander / cilantro, if using. Serve over rice - or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice!

For NOODLES:

• Follow Stir Fry directions. Add NOODLES with the Sauce in step 4.
• Toss for 1 - 2 minutes until Sauce thickens and coats noodles. Remove from heat, garnish and serve immediately!

Recipe Notes:

1. Peanut Butter - Regular peanut you use for sandwiches or unsweetened peanut butter is fine here.

2. Fish Sauce - don't skip this! It's key for getting enough complexity in the flavour of this Peanut Sauce with so few ingredients. The sauce smells a bit fishy but that smell disappears once cooked. 

3. Dark Soy Sauce has more flavour than light and all purpose soy sauce. It also darkens the colour of the Peanut Sauce. You can substitute with normal soy sauce. 

4. When cooking stir fries, add the vegetables that take the longest to cook first, then delicate leafy things like the leaves of Asian greens, spinach and bean sprouts right at the end. For Asian greens, separate the stems from the leafy parts, and put the stems in first.

Broccoli / broccolini / cauliflower - cook prior to adding as they won't cook in the quick cook time for this recipe. 

5. STORAGE: The Sauce can be made and kept for 3 - 5 days. If keeping for longer than than 3 days, leave out the ginger and garlic and add it when using (for freshness and also because minced garlic goes off).

6. Nutrition for Sauce only, for stir fry for 2 servings. 

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 52gCalories: 122cal (6%)

Keywords: Peanut Sauce Stir Fries

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

LIFE OF DOZER

Dozer’s golden retriever boarder continued to send me daily updates even when I was off the grid. This is the first one I saw when I returned to civilisation. He looks like he’s behaving……. he respects her a whole lot more than me!!