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Recipes

Make This Easy, 5-Ingredient Peanut Noodles to Wow Your Friends

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at UC Berkeley chapter.

Peanut sauce is a staple companion of many Thai dishes, such as chicken satay and peanut curry. This nutty, spicy, and savory sauce can also be the perfect complement sauce to make peanut noodles. 

Being a college student, I often struggle to make tasty meals on a budget using the ingredients I already have in the kitchen. This peanut noodle recipe is perfect since it only uses 5 pantry ingredients to craft a delicious and creative meal that is sure to amaze everyone you cook it for.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Unsplash on unsplash

These peanut noodles are so simple to make that even someone with no cooking experience would be able to prepare it. They also take less than 10 minutes from start to finish, allowing you to prepare a satisfying and nutritious meal without taking too much time away from your busy schedule. 

This peanut noodles recipe can also be adapted to your taste, allowing you to enjoy it with your favorite add-ins or by itself. You don’t even need to tweak it; the recipe is also vegan.

5 Ingredient Thai Peanut Noodles

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 5 minutesTotal time: 10 minutesServings:3 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Cynthia Liu

    Boil water and cook the udon noodles according to the package.

    #SpoonTip: If you can’t find udon noodles, try using ramen or other noodles you are able to find.

  2. Cynthia Liu

    While the noodles are cooking, combine peanut butter and soy sauce in a small bowl until the soy sauce does not separate from the peanut butter.

    #SpoonTip: Try out the recipe with crunchy peanut butter to give it a different texture.

  3. Cynthia Liu

    Dice the garlic cloves into small pieces.

  4. Cynthia Liu

    Mix diced garlic and sriracha into peanut butter and soy sauce mixture.

    #SpoonTip: Try using Korean chili paste, gochujang, instead of or in addition to sriracha if you like spicy food.

  5. Cynthia Liu

    Once the udon noodles have cooked, save 1-2 cups of the noodle water to help make the sauce and drain the rest.

  6. Cynthia Liu

    In a saucepan on medium heat, add 1 cup of the reserved noodle water and the peanut butter mixture, stirring to dissolve.

  7. Cynthia Liu

    Once the peanut butter mixture has dissolved in the water to create a smooth, homogenous sauce, add in the udon noodles and any add-ins you like, such as vegetables, tofu, or chicken.

  8. Cynthia Liu

    Stir to coat the noodles in the sauce, adding in additional amounts of the reserved udon water little by little if the sauce gets too thick. Plate and enjoy.

What I love about these noodles is that they are very customizable. The peanut sauce base is very simple, making it the perfect canvas for the perfect peanut noodles. Add in your favorite toppings to personalize this dish—the possibilities are endless.

peanut noodles
Cynthia Liu

In one rendition of the peanut noodles I made, I added frozen veggies into the pot of boiling water while the udon noodles were cooking to make the peanut noodles more nutritious. You can also add in a protein source such as tofu or chicken to the peanut noodles to take them to the next level if you desire. 

If you still can’t get enough of peanut butter after making these peanut noodles, try out these 10 peanut butter food combinations. Or, if you are looking for another noodle recipe to make, try out this amazing garlic noodles recipe.  

Shalina Bulchandani

UC Berkeley '21

Born and raised in San Francisco. Avid traveler and food fan. Always looking for new eateries to try and favorites to keep coming back to. Lover of all things chocolate.