Spicy peanut sauce is pretty much a staple around here, mostly for how it makes a meal easy: boil noodles, stir-fry some veggies, pour the sauce over everything and dinner’s ready. Quick and flavorful – it’s a good thing (um…do you think that’s trademarked?).
This is a case where the store-bought product doesn’t necessarily have a lot of junk in it, it’s just really expensive! Even in the Asian stores, this is not cheap. After trying several recipes and being disappointed (some were just like putting straight peanut butter on your noodles- ugh), I stood in the aisle of the store and wrote down the ingredients in the order listed of the brand we liked then came home and fiddled with amounts until it passed the taste test.
These are the ingredients: soy sauce, peanut butter, honey or brown sugar, rice vinegar AND apple cider vinegar, fresh ginger, and garlic. Not pictured is Sriracha sauce – the ingredient that adds the spiciness to the peanut sauce.
Measure the soy sauce, peanut butter, honey or brown sugar, both vinegars, and the garlic into a blender. I suppose you don’t actually need a blender, it just makes it really quick and smooth.
Next, grate the fresh ginger. I used to be afraid of fresh ginger – do you peel it? Where do you keep it? How do you prepare it? Besides, it looked weird. I would mostly use powdered ginger (I know…). But this Microplane grater (which I love, love, love) has changed my ginger ways. I just keep a knob in the freezer, cut off a chunk when I need it, peel it and grate it like the picture. I’ve found the key to easy grating is to do it while the knob is still mostly frozen, it doesn’t grate as nicely if it’s thawed.
Add the ginger and Sriracha sauce to the mixture in the blender. I like to use about a teaspoon, I think, but to be honest, I usually just squirt some in the blender. Whirl it all up for a few seconds.Voila! Spicy Peanut Sauce for your pantry and lovely quick meals. I hope you like it as much as we do.
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An Oregon Cottage’s Spicy Peanut Sauce*
- 2/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (feel free to add more if you like a really peanutty sauce…)
- 1/4 cup honey, brown sugar or coconut/palm sugar
- 2 TB rice vinegar
- 1 TB apple cider vinegar
- 2-3 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- Sriracha chili sauce to taste
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and whirl until mixed.
- Pour into a glass jar and keep in the refrigerator.
*This is a pourable peanut sauce to use for noodles and stir-fries, not dipping. Try reducing soy sauce to 1/2 c. if a thicker sauce is desired.
-Jami
I believe a cottage can be anywhere or anything (condo, ranch, farmhouse) as long as you have a "cottage mentality" which puts people above things, celebrates imperfections, embraces simplicity, and finds joy in everyday life. Thanks for joining me!
Thanks for this recipe…i’ve been looking for a homemade version of peanut sauce. I’d love to link to your page from my blog post on Thai Chicken Pizza to give readers a homemade option.
Here’s a link to my blog: http://www.kitchymamameals.com/2011/04/thai-chicken-pizza-inspired-choice.html
Can regular hot sauce be substituted for th angry chicken kind?
Carmela- Sure! That’s one of the reasons it’s great to make your own condiments- you can tailor them to your own liking.
We love Sriracha and it’s slightly Asian taste goes well with the peanut sauce, but try whatever you have to make it spicy and see what you like- even cayenne pepper would work, I would think.
Jami, Is there a way to make this without soy sauce? Soy is something I like to avoid but it’s in everything asian.
Well, it’s a main ingredient, so I don’t know.
You’d have to experiment – do you have something you normally substitute? I only get an organic brand of soy that doesn’t have preservatives and junk in it, but I understand your concern. The one thing my niece uses on Asian food when she’s here is sweet chili sauce, since it doesn’t have soy. It is loaded with sugar though…sigh.