Growing up, I didn’t eat a lot of what most people would consider normal American fare. From twinkies to biscuits and gravy, most of these foods were just not a part of my diet until I started dating my longterm, all-American boyfriend.
Family dinners at my house included an eclectic mix of Japanese and Norwegian food- pretty weird, right?
We would have sushi and Japanese curry one night, then my mom would make a big batch of Norsk kjotkake the next day which we would enjoy with a copious amount of potatoes and gravy.
I mean, you should just see my parents. They’re one funny couple. My mom is this tiny asian lady, while my dad is tall and blonde and, as we like to joke, has viking blood running through his veins.
My upbringing has definitely influenced my tastebuds today and whenever I’m trying to figure out what I want to eat for lunch or dinner, my mind always turns to asian flavors. I’m not picky either!
Japanese food makes my heart swoon! Chinese food makes me want to shout from the rooftop! Thai food makes me want to clap with joy! Vietnamese food makes me want to dance!
If you can’t already tell from all the exclamation points I just used, I have a mad love affair with anything food-related.
That mad love affair is what sparked the idea for these noodles, because seriously, who doesn’t like noodles?
In my opinion, they are the perfect vessel to carry different flavors, especially when they’re covered in a delicious sweet and salty peanut sauce and are sprinkled with spicy red pepper flakes, sesame seeds for extra flavor, and chopped peanuts for that perfect crunch in every bite!
Doesn’t sound too bad, right?!
Oh, and did I mention that these are easy? Just a few household ingredients come together in no time at all and BOOM. You’ve got a creamy sauce that the noodles happily absorb and dinner is served!
I made these with every intention of using them as a side dish, but after tasting them (and by tasting I mean eating 7 forkfuls), I realized that they’re filling enough to work as a main meal. Last night I had a hot date with my good friend, Netflix, and enjoyed a big bowl of these while binge watching The Office.
It was a good night.
I think a lot of people find cooking asian food a bit intimidating because of the exotic ingredients used. To take away from that fear, these Spicy Asian Noodles with Peanut Sauce use ingredients you probably have stored in your cupboard!
Your main base is made from ordinary spaghetti noodles, peanut butter, soy sauce, and brown sugar. I don’t know about you, but those ingredients are staples for me and I always have them on hand.
To make them even better, they’re super speedy and only take the amount of time needed to boil your spaghetti noodles. Did I mention that they’re also on the healthier side?
I get tired of the same run-of-the-mill pasta dishes that are made with tons of heavy cream and butter and leave you feeling heavy and blah-like the next day. And yes, I consider “blah-like” to be a totally appropriate adjective.
So what are you waiting for?! A big plate of steaming-hot noodles is in your future!
Spicy Asian Noodles with Peanut Sauce
- ½ lb dried spaghetti
- 1 tbsp sesame oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 tsp garlic, roughly diced
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1½ tbsp peanut butter
- 1¼ tbsp brown sugar
- ½ cup red bell peppers, thinly sliced
- ⅛th cup chopped green onion
- ¼th cup chopped peanuts
- red pepper flakes, to taste
- sesame seeds, optional
- In a large pot, cook the spaghetti until al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add in garlic and cook for 10-15 seconds. Add in the soy sauce, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
- Mix together the spaghetti with the peanut butter sauce and red bell peppers. Top with the chopped green onion, peanuts, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds.
- Serve hot or cold!
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