Asian Noodle Dish of Epic Success

One of the greatest rewards I receive from the site are reader e-mails, well the non-hate ones.  This one is about a recipe that I loved to make during college because it's delicious and extremely budget friendly.  How else can someone consume over 100g of protein for less than five dollars?  Here we visit peanut noodles.

Subject: Failed Asian Noodle Dish
Message: So I found myself wanting to cook up an Oak Manor Classic.  I knew the majority of the spices and ingredients for the dish, but the quantities and mixtures were lost to me, so I went searching online and found something that reminded me of what I was looking for... here is what I found...

• 2/3 cup (150 g) peanut butter
• 4 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 lb. (225 g) linguine
• 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

1. In a saucepan, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, and green onion and mix well.
2. Add the sesame oil and cayenne pepper. Heat slowly, whisking until smooth.
3. Meanwhile, cook the linguine according to the package directions. Drain.
4. Place the linguine in a large bowl, add the peanut sauce, and toss to coat. Garnish with the toasted sesame seeds.
5. Serve hot or cold.

Now I missed something in my work because the noodles came out very sticky and the peanut butter flavor was over powering... suggestions to make it better? Anything missing from the flavorful meal?

Hi buddy!  One of the first things I can tell just from reading the recipe is that it desperately needs acid, and another asian foundation ingredient, ginger.  General rule is to have equal amounts of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.  The ginger will also help to brighten the dish.  Add some pasta water and we should be in business.

I start the dish by sauteing minced garlic, ginger, and scallion whites in a pan- the greens don't present well after significant cooking time and being mixed with the PB.  This builds the base flavor of the dish.  After a few minutes I throw in sambal oelek for heat.  Another minute and it's time to turn the mixture into an actual sauce.

I carefully pour equal parts of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar into the pan, then let it come back up to temperature.  Once the pasta is near al dente, I add the peanut butter.  The peanut butter assimilates quickly, and if cooked too long makes the sauce dark, overly thick, and a little funky.  Natural peanut butter without preservatives works best. 

The sauce can get dark really fast, and it will look even weirder when the water is thrown in. Your bravery will be rewarded.

At this point, I pull the pasta out of the boiling water.  Then I add 1/4 or more of a cup of the pasta's starchy water to the sauce.  It will look goofy at first but after steady stirring the sauce will be much less viscous- which is a good thing.  I toss the noodles in a few tablespoons of dark sesame oil for flavor and wonderful fat.  Mix with the sauce.  Garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro.  Cucumber slices also accompany the dish well.

Asian Noodle Dish of Epic Success

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Comments

[Sloth]

Thanks buddy, i will be taking another run at it... maybe tonight.

[Maureen]

The doctored recipe sounds wonderful. While this isn't a Thai recipe, it benefits from the Thai/SE Asian(?) formula of equal parts of sweet, sour, salty and heat. The balance tempers the heat and allows it to go down with that wonderful after burn. Of course, you can leave the heat out but we like a good dose of finely chopped skeeeny chiles in this kind of dish.