I don’t remember how I found out about peanut noodles—a rare thing for someone like me with decent taste-memory—but when I first made it is etched in my brain.
I just came home from a trip to the Philippines and like anybody who crossed three different timezones, I was jetlagged as fuck. One day I was still up at 7:30 a.m. I decided to amuse myself and drove to the local Shop Rite and got the ingredients.
When I got home, I thought to rest my head while I wait for the shrimp to thaw. That nap ended up lasting eight hours. Whatever, I thought to myself. I had peanut noodles for a (very) late lunch and made shrimp toast for dinner.
You’ll Need:
1 bunch dried Udon noodles or an equivalent portion of Fettuccine
2 tbsp. chunky peanut butter
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsps. Sriracha or Chinese chili
1 red bell pepper, cut to strips
6 pcs. 16–20 shrimp, peeled, shelled, and tails removed
3 button mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
To Make:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions. Save a cup of the cooking water before draining.
Season the shrimp on both sides salt and pepper, then cook in a pan with two tablespoons of oil until opaque. Move to a plate. Add the red bell pepper and garlic, and cook until tender-crisp. Transfer to the same plate as the shrimp. Finally, cook the mushrooms in one layer until they give off their liquid and begins to brown. Remove from the pan.
Turn the heat to low and combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, and chili, along with three tablespoons of the pasta water and bring up to temperature while whisking occasionally. Add more water if the sauce is too thick. Toss the noodles until completely coated with the sauce, before adding the ingredients that were cooked earlier. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped parsley.
Leave a Reply