Sunday, April 7, 2013

Easy Asian Peanut Sauce

I don't know about you but our house LOVES peanut sauce with any kind of Asian food.  This paring of peanut sauce with Asian food  is comparable to our love for butter with bread or cream with coffee. (  I hope you're following me there)  I had peanut sauce in the past but had not started to appreciated it until I started to frequent our local Pho restaurant about 5 years ago.  This is where the love of peanut sauce was born into something shy of an addiction.  Every time we went to Pho my sister and I got a side of peanut sauce. Not just one side - each of us had our own side and we would devour it.  The peanut sauce was the highlight of our meal ( sad but true).  I had always thought of peanut sauce as "restaurant food"  and far too complicated to make.  Until we were became regulars at the Pho restaurant only for the peanut sauce - I'm talking weekly we would go get peanut sauce.  At that point  I decided I needed to learn how to make my own peanut sauce.  

This recipe has been modified over the past two years and you can play around with it too to get the consistency you want along with the flavor you want.

Easy Asian Peanut Sauce:
Yields 3/4 Cup 
Prep Time 15 mins 

Ingredients: 


1/2 cup peanut butter ( creamy or chunky)
1/4 cup hot water
2 Tbls rice vinegar
3 Tbls soy sauce
1 Tbls sweet soy sauce ( can substitute molasses here)
1 Tbls sesame oil
3 Tbls honey  ( more if you want sweeter)
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Sriracha ( more if desired more spice)
Optional add ins:
1/2 fresh squeezed lime
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1 Tbls red pepper flakes


1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl until well blended.
2. If you want more heat add red pepper flakes or more Sriracha or more sweetness add more honey. If its too runny add more peanut butter, if its too thick add more water.

Enjoy!  Stores in your fridge for up to 10 days - but i my house it only lasts one!