Peanut Sauce — Weekend Cooking

In the comments to last week’s post on peanut butter, Peanut Butter — An Overeater’s Tips, Margot of Joyfully Retired asked for the peanut sauce recipe we use for stir-fry. We aim to please!

We usually use this sauce with a stir-fry of onions, sliced chicken, and a wok full of cooking greens. We stir in cooked soba noodles at the last minute and top the servings with a few peanuts. I use a combination of greens, often kale and chard because that’s what I grow in my garden. This week I added spinach and tatsoi to the mix because they were in our CSA box.

We eat this once or twice a week all year round. It’s the highest fat and highest sodium dish in our normal repertoire, but it will get us to eat so many greens that we consider it a healthy meal in our diet.

I’m lax about measurements with most sauces, marinades, and dressings, but I measure everything in this sauce because my chef (aka as my husband, Rick) prefers it to be consistent. I use chicken stock if I have it, otherwise I’ll substitute whey (a side product from making yogurt cheese) or water. The only other change I make is adding extra honey if the greens are really bitter, like collards.

Since there’s starch in the sauce, it needs to be brought to a boil. Rick, the chef for this dish, pushes the stir-fry up on the walls of the wok when it’s done, dumps the sauce in the middle and brings it to a boil until it thickens a bit. Then we add the soba noodles while stirring everything all together.

Peanut Sauce for Stir-Fry
by Joy Weese Moll

2 Tablespoons light soy sauce
3 Tablespoons chicken stock (or whey or water)
1.5 Tablespoons peanut butter
2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon starch (tapioca or corn)

Mix all ingredients in food processor or blender. Bring to a boil and allow to thicken slightly. Serves 2.

There must be many versions of peanut sauce. Do you have a favorite recipe?

Weekend Cooking is hosted every Saturday at Beth Fish Reads. Check out this weekend’s post for cooking and food posts from around the web.

Comments

Peanut Sauce — Weekend Cooking — 11 Comments

Memory on November 16, 2012 at 4:56 pm said:

This sounds delicious! I’ve never made a peanut sauce with hoisin before, but now I’m eager to give it a try.

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Beth F on November 17, 2012 at 8:48 am said:

Sounds wonderful! We eat greens several times a week in many forms. We love them.

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jama on November 17, 2012 at 9:07 am said:

Thanks for sharing this!

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Linda on November 17, 2012 at 12:28 pm said:

I’m always looking for a good peanut sauce. I have yet to perfect mine. I’ll have to try yours.

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Carole on November 17, 2012 at 1:00 pm said:

I am going to try this one – pinning for later reference, thanks Joy. Have a good week.

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Joanna on November 18, 2012 at 7:58 am said:

Oh my Gods, this has peanut butter AND hoisin sauce, two of my favorite ingredients. I am so making this, maybe even tonight! I think I have some chinese cabbage that needs stir-frying…

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Heather @girlichef on November 18, 2012 at 8:37 am said:

I like the way you think! I’m a sucker for pretty much any sort of peanut sauce…and I could probably dive into that bucket with a spoon. 😉

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Alex Baugh on November 18, 2012 at 10:43 am said:

This sounds so good and so easy. I’ve been using Trader Joe’s Satay Sauce, but would much rather make my over peanut sauce. And I just made some nice brown rice for it.

And congratulations on your 500th post. That is a real milestone you should be very proud of.

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SprungAtLast on November 18, 2012 at 11:26 am said:

This sounds so good (and simple). I used to get peanut noodles from a takeout place near my apartment; now I’m all nostalgic for them. this plus some vermicelli would probably be about the same!

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Diane (bookchickdi) on November 18, 2012 at 2:22 pm said:

Thanks for sharing this recipe; I can’t wait to try it.

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Margot on November 19, 2012 at 12:05 am said:

Oh Joy, thank you. I actually have all the ingredients in my house right now but have never put them together in this way. I also have some lovely kale and collards in my garden too. I can’t wait to try this. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

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