RECIPE: Ultraversatile sweet and spicy Thai style peanut sauce
I love peanut sauce. Growing up as a kid in southern Indiana (yes, we're doing this), the idea of peanuts as something that could be magically delicious on something other than on sandwiches with jelly or crushed and sprinkled over a sundae was a revelation. Asian cuisine is always good to my cornfed palate. So of course, I put my own peanut sauce together which you can find in my fridge about 70% of the time.
It's so good on everything. Like, everything-everything.
Summer rolls with peanut sauce. Chicken satay with peanut sauce. Salad with peanut sauce as dressing. Dunking coconut shrimp. Over some crunchy and just-blistered stir-fried green beans.
Make it. Love it. Live it. Peanut sauce.
- 1/2 C PB2 powdered peanut butter or 1/2 c regular peanut butter
- Juice of one lime
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons seasoned rice or sushi vinegar
- 1-3 tsp Scorpion Honey
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- Optional: rough chopped cilantro
If you want to be a little extra and bring all the flavors out, heat the sesame oil up in a small frying pan and lightly fry the garlic and ginger paste in it. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
If you're in a hurry, chuck it all in the blender or food processor and go. No rules in this imaginary kitchen we share, just flavors.
You can also blend the cilantro into it or sprinkle on top as garnish.
This stuff is great. It’s a good salad dressing. It’s a great veggie dip, spring roll and satay accompaniment. You can also stir fry some rice noodles and bean sprouts in this sauce for a fast faux-pad-thai to satisfy that peanut-umami-lime craving.