Stir Fried Peanut Sauce Noodles

This Stir Fried Peanut Sauce Noodles tastes like the satay chicken you get at Chinese restaurants. A simple peanut sauce, rice noodles, chicken, carrot, cabbage and bean sprouts = a bowl of slurp worthy deliciousness!

This recipe is made using one of my master sauce recipe, this Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries. Like my All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce, it can be used for any stir fry or noodles using a “formula” (provided in the recipe) and forms the basis for many recipes I’ve shared over the years!

Peanut Sauce Noodles

This stir fried Peanut Sauce Noodles is made using the Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries that I published on Wednesday. In that post, I provided the sauce recipe and a “formula” to make stir fries using whatever you have. In this recipe, I’m providing specific ingredient quantities for the pictured noodle stir fry.

I won’t go on and on about the Peanut Sauce again because I did enough of that on Wednesday! In a nutshell – it’s a gem of a recipe, adapted from an original recipe given to me by a reader. One of those recipes that tastes a lot more complicated than it is – because Asian Peanut Sauces usually have a fairly lengthy list of ingredients, but this one is very straight forward.

If peanut butter sandwiches and basic Asian pantry essentials are a staple in your household, you can probably make these Peanut Sauce Noodles right now. The beauty of (most) stir fries is that there are no rules about what vegetables and proteins go into them. I’d say that 90% of the stir fries I make involve rummaging around in the bottom of my fridge, rather than specifically shopping for ingredients to make something.

Ingredients in Stir Fried Peanut Sauce Noodles

This Peanut Sauce Noodles recipe is made with leftover ingredients from Chicken Chow Mein I had the previous day. It has exactly the same ingredients:

• chicken
• onion & garlic
• carrot
• bean sprouts
• cabbage

I like to use chicken thigh because it’s juicier than breast and tenderloin. If I make this with chicken breast, I always tenderise it using a Chinese restaurant technique using baking soda (bi-carb). It’s super simple, see directions here: How to Velvet Chicken.

I like the combination of vegetables in this Peanut Sauce Noodles because they are stringy, “noodle shaped” if you will, so they sort of seem to disappear in the noodles once tossed through with Sauce. This stir fry serves 2 and there’s a fair mound of vegetables in this – over 4 cups. But looking at these photos, one would never guess.

The ultimate way with hidden veggies??? – Nagi x

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Stir Fried Noodles with Peanut Sauce

Author: Nagi

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 8 mins

Total: 23 mins

4.96 from 25 votes

Servings2

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Noodles tossed in a peanut sauce with vegetables and your choice of protein! With the hint of curry flavour, the peanut sauce tastes like satay peanut stir fries you get at Chinese restaurants here in Australia. The flavour of this sauce belies the short list of simple ingredients - good Asian peanut sauces typically have a much lengthier list of ingredients. Make your own stir fry or noodles using whatever ingredients you have - use this Satay Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries (sauce recipe + "formula" for stir fry). Stir Fried Noodles recipe VIDEO below.

Ingredients

Sauce:

• ▢ 1/4 cup / 60g crunchy peanut butter (Note 1)
• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce (Note 2)
• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 3)
• ▢ 2 tsp sugar
• ▢ 2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
• ▢ 2 garlic clove , minced
• ▢ 2 tsp grated ginger
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp curry powder (any type)
• ▢ 1/4 cup / 65 ml water

Chicken:

• ▢ 180 g/ 6 oz thinly sliced chicken breast
• ▢ 1 tsp bicarb / baking soda (optional, Note 4)

Stir Fry:

• ▢ 100 g/3.5 oz dried rice noodles (Note 5)
• ▢ 2 tbsp oil
• ▢ 1 garlic , finely chopped
• ▢ 1/2 onion , sliced
• ▢ 1 cup shredded carrot
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
• ▢ 1 cup beansprouts

Garnish (highly recommended):

• ▢ Finely chopped coriander/cilantro
• ▢ Crushed peanuts

Instructions

• Tenderise Chicken (optional, Note 4): Place chicken and bicarb in a bowl and mix with your fingers. Set aside for 20 minutes. Rinse well in a colander then shake off excess water. Roughly pat dry with a paper towel.
• Sauce: Place all ingredients except water in a bowl and mix (microwave if needed to melt the peanut butter). Add water and mix.
• Prepare noodles per packet directions (usually soak in boiled water). Drain, set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add garlic and onion, stir for 30 seconds.
• Add chicken and cook until the outside changes from pink to white. Add carrot and cabbage, cook until it starts to wilt.
• Add noodles, bean sprouts and Sauce. Toss for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes or until the Sauce thickens and coats the noodles.
• Serve immediately, garnished with coriander and peanuts.

Recipe Notes:

1. Just use regular peanut you use for sandwiches! If you use unsweetened peanut butter, you may need to add a touch of sugar to the sauce. If using pure pureed peanut spread, you may find it's a bit dry so will need to add a little oil to the sauce.

2. Don't skip the fish sauce! 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. Few people can pick that the stir fry sauce has fish sauce in it!

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. This tenderises the chicken the Chinese restaurant way. It's especially effective for chicken breast which is lean and can dry out from overcooking quickly, but can be used for any cut of chicken, or pork. I personally don't enjoy using this technique for beef - I prefer using a decent cut of beef for stir fries.

5. You can also use fresh noodles ie from the fridge section. Use 180 - 200g / 6 - 7 oz fresh noodles of choice - egg or rice.

6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 2 servings (they are fairly generous). You can reduce by 60 calories per serve by cutting down to 1 tbsp oil.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 445gCalories: 732cal (37%)

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

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

LIFE OF DOZER 

Fellow dog owners – do you find your dog always sprawls in the most trodden path?? I must’ve stepped over him 20 or 30 times as I ran back and forth between the kitchen and the shoot area.

Not once did it cross my mind to tell him to move. Who rules the house???!

PS And to those who are new to it – introducing Dozer’s Modesty Daisy.