THAI PEANUT NOODLES

“No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut.” - Channing Pollock

Not sure where I got this photo from.   I'm a huge fan of Thai food but then who isn't? While I've always thought Thai was the easiest thing to put together for a group, the usual curry and steamed rice combination is getting old. These noodles look like a lot more effort than they really are and I'm a big fan of the honey peanut flavour. To love this recipe as much as I do, I strongly recommend that you replace the options here with vegetables that suit your taste and what you happen to have in the fridge. Bon appetit! What you’ll Need:   A pack of noodles (Udon or Lo Mein, if you can get it) 6 tablespoons oil (preferably sesame) ½ cup green onions 1 cup carrot (shredded as thin as you can) ½ cup broccoli florets ½ cup chopped up french beans ½ cup mushrooms ½ cup sliced capsicum ½ cup chopped onions 4 tablespoons minced fresh garlic 1 ½ tablespoon minced fresh ginger ½ cup honey ½ cup peanut butter ¼ cup soy sauce 4 tablespoons vinegar 1 tablespoon chilli garlic sauce or 1 teaspoon chilli powder   How to:   A. Get the noodles done   1. Cook noodles in a large pot of salted water according to package directions till al-dente. Drain, rinse down with cold water and return to pot.   2. Add 3 tablespoons oil to the noodles and toss so the noodles are coated. Set aside.   B. Make the sauce   1. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy pot on medium heat and add ginger, garlic and onions.   2. Then add thecarrots, broccoli, beans and mushrooms. Stir till vegetables soften. Add the capsicum and spring onions towards the end – you don’t want to cook these as much because they’ll wilt.   3. In a bowl, mix the honey, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar and chilli garlic sauce/chilli powder into a thick goopy paste. Pour paste on to vegetables. Simmer for a couple of minutes.   4. Once you’re sure the vegetables are done, taste the sauce to see if you need salt. Remember this is a sauce you’re going to pour over the noodles so you can add a little water if you need to reach a sauce like consistency.   Note: This is also a good time to check if you want to enhance any one particular flavor. I added more honey at this point because I really liked the honey peanut flavor coming through. Depending on your taste you may want to put in more peanut butter or soy sauce - see what works for you.   Top it Up:   1. Toss the noodles and sauce together well, so the noodles are evenly coated.   2. Garnish with crushed peanuts, lime wedges and thinly sliced cucumber. If you like, you can also bung on some spring onions but try to make sure that you have the cucumber and lime.   Foodnotes: Depending on what you have in stock, you can change the vegetables in the sauce around. The original recipe I saw called for cabbage and bak choy but the combination here is one I prefer. Because the sauce has so many vegetables in there, it may get thick and difficult to toss in with the noodles. Add some water into the sauce when cooking to thin it so it coats the noodles well. If adding water, keep in mind that you may need to add more seasoning to keep the flavor from becoming dilute.   If without peanut butter, just blending peanuts, some butter and salt together will work.  Watch carefully when sautéing the vegetables you need to make sure they don’t wilt so you have all that crunch and flavor in the sauce.