Nothing gets my culinary self as excited as finding a recipe that’s versatile, effortless, and uses ingredients I usually keep on hand at all times. And this recipe for easy peanut sauce, submitted to the Food52 site by Phoebe Lapine, is one such discovery.
This easy peanut sauce calls for all pantry items, among which I count the fresh ginger and garlic: I always have a chunk of the former in my fridge (where it keeps for weeks and weeks) and a head of the latter (preferably pink) on my counter. Only the lime juice requires a bit of foresight on my part, but it’s optional (it was a commenter’s suggestion, one I absolutely agree with) and lemon juice can also do in a pinch.
How to use your easy peanut sauce
It is also the easiest thing to make: all you need is a small mixer or blender to whizz together the ingredients, thin the mixture with a little bit of water, and there you have it, a boldly flavorsome peanut sauce that you can:
- Toss with some noodles, perhaps adding some minced scallions, grated carrots, and cilantro for color and vitamins,
- Dollop onto a bowl of brown rice with some mushrooms and sweet potatoes,
- Use as a dip for crudités (think sticks of carrot, cucumber, or kohlrabi, radishes of any color…),
- Serve as a sauce alongside grilled skewers of (organic) chicken, (sustainable) fish, or (ethically sourced) shrimp,
- Drizzle over a plate of steamed or roasted vegetables (think broccoli, green beans, bok choy, any kind of leafy green)…
And the best part is, you can make this sauce ahead of time — say, on the weekend — and keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks, ready to roll whenever you need to put together a quickie meal or a satisfying snack.
Join the conversation!
Have I convinced you to adopt peanut sauce into your repertoire, if it isn’t in there already? And how are you most tempted to use it?
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Ingredients
- 120 grams (1/2 cup) all-natural, smooth peanut butter
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) soy sauce (use gluten-free tamari if needed)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon honey, rice syrup, or other liquid sweetener
- 1 to 2 teaspoons chili sauce, such as Tabasco or sriracha, to taste
- 1 thumb-size piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, combine all the ingredients and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add 2 to 4 tablespoons water and process again until you get a creamy, coating consistency to match the intended use -- thicker to use as a dip, thinner to dress noodles.
- If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate. After refrigerating, the sauce will have thickened and you'll probably need to whisk in a touch more water to give it the consistency you want.
