Spicy Peanut Sauce

Put in the effort and make a batch of this. It has the half life of plutonium, a little goes a long way and as long as you have some pasta in the house you have a quick meal. I was taught this one 20 years ago by a very French Chef. Food fusion was not on my radar but here was Chef Michel working this dish into his lunch menu. He even had a playful name for it, Uncle Mickey's Peanut Sauce.

I added some marinated black beans to the dish. In a few days I will put up a grilled chicken that combines with this dish beautifully. This was one of my son's favorites when he was growing up. Maybe I can ship some to his mess hall in Afghanistan.

You will need a food processor or good blender, some measuring cups and spoons. Yield is about 4 cups and the cost is too little to calculate since most of this stuff is in your pantry anyway.

Uncle Mickey's Peanut Sauce

• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup peeled garlic
• 1/2 cup, about 2 inches of grated fresh ginger. I keep ginger in the freezer. I grate it, peel  it, all on a microplaner, while it is frozen.
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 3/4 cup good smooth peanut butter

Add garlic, chili powder, cayenne, sugar and ginger to food processor / blender. Run for a minute or so.

Add 1/4 cup veg oil to food processor / blender and let run another minute scraping the side down once.

Add remaining oil, soy, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil and vinegar. Let run a minute

Add peanut butter and let run another minute. Taste and adjust if needed.

To serve

Cook some pasta, thin noodles work best, drain, and do not rinse them off. Lay them out on a sheet pan to cool. The starchiness will help the sauce stick to the noodles.

Make a little black bean salad, I used some celery, red and green peppers, shallots and cilantro. Add a little cumin to taste and I'm good

In a big bowl toss the pasta with a  little sauce a big healthy scoop of beans and serve. This dish is served at room temperature.

no rinse, no oil, no stick!

Comments

[D Rubin]

This is so right on, I can't even find the words without sounding obsequious. Had to wing it a bit, but it's so good. And now I don't have to buy that expensive bottled peanut sauce at the grocery.

Another staple for our household!

[Gerry Nooney]

Yeah David, I want to go eat at your house. If it separates back in the blender or food processor and add a little boiling water while the machine is running