Peanut and cucumber noodles
main | quick | vegan
Everything I want a bowl of noodles to be with a chilli-spiked peanut sauce with the freshness of cucumber, sugar snaps and coriander. Pea shoots would work here, too. Vegans can swap the egg noodles for rice or thick udon noodles.
Ingredients
Prep 10 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 4
For the peanut sauce
5 tbsp smooth peanut butter
5 tsp tahini
5 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
4 tsp honey or maple syrup
5 tsp rice wine vinegar
5 tbsp chilli oil
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
For the noodles
1 medium cucumber
150g sugar snap peas (or mangetout or pea shoots)
250g dried egg noodles
a small bunch of spring onions, finely sliced
a large bunch of coriander, leaves picked
4 tbsp peanuts, toasted and crushed
Method
- Quarter the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the watery middle and set it aside. Cut the cucumber flesh into 5cm lengths, then into matchsticks. Cut the sugar snaps into long slices.
- To make the sauce, put the watery middles from the cucumber into a small food processor with the peanut butter, tahini, soy, sesame oil, honey and vinegar, blitz or whisk until smooth, then stir through the chilli oil and chopped garlic.
- Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling water for a minute or so less than it says on the packet (about four to five minutes), so they still have some bite. Drain the noodles and put into a serving bowl.
- Pour the peanut sauce on top and toss together to dress the noodles. Add the cucumber and sugar snaps, and toss again, then top with the spring onions, coriander and crushed peanuts; if you like, finish with a little extra chilli oil.