Creamy, slurpy, savoury peanut butter ramen noodles are an irresistible meal that comes together in 10 minutes. Upgrade instant ramen noodles by tossing in a simple sauce made of peanut butter, chilli sauce, chilli oil crisps, green onion, garlic, soy sauce, and hot oil.
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If you never thought of adding peanut butter to the noodles, try this recipe right away; you are missing out! The sweet peanut butter transforms into this creamy, savoury sauce when whisked with other condiments such as chilli sauce (you can use any chilli sauce – schezwan sauce, sweet chilli sauce or sriracha), light soy sauce, chilli oil crisps, fresh green onion (both white and green parts), and fresh garlic. Consider adding more ingredients such as lime juice, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes and toasted sesame oil.
Why does this recipe work?
- An inexpensive dinner made in 10 minutes using basic pantry staples.
- Perfect for quick and easy lunch and dinner.
- It will become your family’s favourite meal.
- Mildly spicy, can adjust to suit your taste. But so flavorful.
- Easy to customize. Add protein and veggies of your choice to make a complete meal.
- Tastes great both hot and cold.
- Can be enjoyed throughout the year. For a cozy fall meal, a hot bowl of ramen noodles is so comforting. And during summer, serve it cold, it’s tasty and refreshing.
Ingredients
- Ramen Noodles – you can use fresh or dried ramen noodles.
- Peanut Butter – you can use creamy or chunky peanut butter.
- Aromats – the white part of green onion and minced garlic add savoury flavours to the peanut butter sauce.
- Soy sauce – make sure to use low-sodium light soy sauce.
- Chilli sauce – I used homemade schezwan sauce. You can use any chilli sauce – schezwan sauce, sweet chilli sauce or sriracha sauce.
- Hot chilli oil crisps – depending on the brand, the chilli oil ingredients and heat levels will differ. The amount of chilli oil can be adjusted as per spice tolerance levels.
- Neutral oil – I used canola oil. You can use vegetable oil.
- Lime juice – a splash of freshly squeezed lime juice brightens the sauce and makes peanut butter ramen taste great! I added in the end, not seen in the video.
- Topping Ingredients – Green onion, chilli oil crisps, toasted sesame seeds, and crushed roasted peanuts (not salted peanuts).
Recipe Variations
Use any long noodles. Ramen noodles, soba noodles, or even linguine work.
You can use any Asian chilli sauce – schezwan sauce, sweet chilli sauce or sriracha sauce.
- Feel free to add chopped cilantro to the sauce to make it flavorful.
- Add protein and veggies of your choice to make a complete meal. For protein, add cooked and shredded chicken, cooked prawns.
- For veggies – stir in sauteed or steamed broccoli, sauteed spinach, zucchini and sauteed mushrooms or garlic butter mushrooms.
- Make it spicier by doubling the amount of Schezwan sauce. You can also add red pepper flakes.
- Instead of using water used to cook noodles, warm vegetable stock or chicken stock, and use it to loosen the peanut butter sauce to make it smooth and creamy. This will enhance the savory flavor of ramen noodles.
- A little squeeze of fresh lime juice to the peanut sauce just before adding noodles brightens the sauce, and the noodles taste delicious!
- Make it soupy! Double the amount of peanut butter, soy sauce, chilli sauce and an extra splash of water to make soupy ramen noodles.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: In a wide heat-resistant bowl or pan, add peanut butter, chopped white part of green onion, minced garlic, chilli sauce, chilli oil crisps, and light soy sauce.
Heat neutral oil (canola oil, or vegetable oil) in a pan until it’s smoking hot.
Step 2: Handle hot oil with care; it’ll be very hot. Very carefully, using oven mittens pour hot oil over the ingredients.
Be careful while stirring the ingredients, oil will be hot. Whisk all ingredients quickly. Set aside.
Step 3: Boil water in a large saucepan. Once water starts boiling, add ramen noodles and cook until al dente, which will take only 2-3 minutes.
Step 4: Use some of the water from the pot used to cook noodles to loosen the peanut butter sauce to get the desired sauce consistency.
Step 5: Reserve some of the water used to cook the noodles. Drain the ramen noodles and immediately toss them in the peanut butter sauce until evenly coated.
If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of noodles’ cooking water and toss.
Step 6: Allow the noodles to sit in the sauce for 1-2 minutes so the noodles absorb all the sauce and turn flavorful. Add green onion, crushed toasted peanuts and a drizzle of chilli oil on top.
Tips for Success
- Whisk the peanut butter sauce until smooth. Adding a splash of hot noodle-cooked water or warm vegetable stock helps. It takes a bit of effort to get the peanut sauce smooth and fluffy.
- Don’t overcook the noodles. The slightly chewy texture of al-dente noodles is best! Overcooked noodles, when added to peanut sauce, will turn mushy.
- As the noodles sit, they’ll absorb some of the sauce and turn dry, and the sauce will thicken. You can loosen it by adding a splash of warm noodle water ot stock.
- A little squeeze of fresh lime juice to the peanut sauce just before adding noodles brightens the sauce, and the noodles taste delicious!
- Serve immediately warm for the best taste.
Storage and Reheating
If you have leftover peanut butter ramen noodles, transfer them to an air-tight container and store them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Reheat the noodles in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
When reheating, add a splash of water or stock; noodles tend to stick together. This will help loosen the sauce and break apart the noodles.
Recipe FAQs
Best to use natural peanut butter, these are usually made using just peanuts with little salt. Don’t have natural peanut butter, don’t worry. You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter.
This recipe makes mildly spicy noodles. Make it spicier by doubling the amount of Schezwan sauce. You can also add red pepper flakes or extra chilli oil crisp on top while serving.
Use any long noodles. Ramen noodles, soba noodles, or even linguine work.
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📋10 Minutes Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 3 oz packet instant ramen noodles
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter natural style, creamy or crunchy
- 1 tablespoon Schezwan sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce low-sodium
- 1 tablespoon chilli oil crisp extra for serving
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon white part of green onion diced
- 1 tablespoon green onion
- 2 teaspoons toasted and crushed peanuts
Instructions
- In a wide heat-resistant bowl or pan, add peanut butter, chopped white part of green onion, minced garlic, chilli sauce, chilli oil crisps, and light soy sauce.
- Heat neutral oil (canola oil, or vegetable oil) in a pan until it’s smoking hot.
- Handle hot oil with care; it’ll be very hot. Very carefully, using oven mittens pour hot oil over the ingredients.
- Be careful while stirring the ingredients, oil will be hot. Whisk all ingredients quickly. Set aside.
- Boil water in a large saucepan. Once water starts boiling, add ramen noodles and cook until al dente, which will take only 2-3 minutes.
- Use some of the water from the pot used to cook noodles to loosen the peanut butter sauce to get the desired sauce consistency.
- Reserve some water used to cook noodles. Drain ramen noodles and immediately toss them in the peanut butter sauce until the ramen is evenly coated in the sauce.
- If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of noodles’ cooking water and toss.
- Allow the noodles to sit in the sauce for 1-2 minutes so the noodles absorb all the sauce and turn flavorful. Add green onion, crushed toasted peanuts and a drizzle of chilli oil on top.
Video
Notes
- Whisk the peanut butter sauce until smooth. Adding a splash of hot noodle-cooked water or warm vegetable stock helps. It takes a bit of effort to get the peanut sauce smooth and fluffy.
- Don’t overcook the noodles. The slightly chewy texture of al-dente noodles is best! Overcooked noodles, when added to peanut sauce, will turn mushy.
- As the noodles sit, they’ll absorb some of the sauce and turn dry, and the sauce will thicken. You can loosen it by adding a splash of warm noodle water ot stock.
- A little squeeze of fresh lime juice to the peanut sauce just before adding noodles brightens the sauce, and the noodles taste delicious!
- Serve immediately warm for the best taste.
Nutrition
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
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I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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