Crunch Time Dinner: Picnic Peanut Noodles

A flavorful and flexible noodle dish for lunch or dinner.

It’s looking like the hottest week of summer here in Denver this week and for these hot summer weeks, I’m always on the hunt for something fast and chill to make for dinner and lunches.

Last week we went to a little concert in the park next to our house in Denver and I wanted to pack up something that we could eat on the grass, but also make sure we have leftovers for lunches for the next few days.

These Picnic Peanut Noodles checked all the boxes for me. They were fast to make, have a delicious, but simple sauce, are flexible enough to use almost any noodle, and you can top them with dozens of options.

Bookmark this recipe because it’s a good one for summer!

PICNIC PEANUT NOODLES

What noodles work for this?

I used an egg noodle from my local Asian market for these, but I would encourage you to be experimental here as almost any noodle will work I think. You could use rice noodles (I wouldn’t use the very thin ones), you could use soba noodles, and I think you could even use spaghetti in a pinch!

The Sauce is the Boss Here

The sauce is really what this recipe is about. I used a mix of tahini and peanut butter for my sauce, but you could use all peanut butter if you want. In addition to that I added minced garlic, minced ginger, sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and some hot water to bring everything together. Whisk it well!

A note on this sauce: It’s really best at room temperature. If you put it in the fridge for storage, it will seize up a bit on the noodles. That’s okay though… read on to fix it.

How to Reheat these noodles

These noodles are best at room temperature in my opinion. So, if you are serving them out of the fridge (or taking them for lunch), the best way to reheat them is to add some hot water to container (like 2 tablespoons) and shake the noodles vigorously with the water. That will bring the sauce right back to life!

Ideas for toppings for these noodles

I kept my topping list pretty simple for these noodles. I like to use frozen edamame, crushed peanuts, and scallions, plus some chili crunch. Here are a bunch of other options you could use though to top these noodles.

• Shredded veggies like carrots or cabbage.

• Any sauteed protein like chicken, pork, or shrimp.

• Crispy Tofu

• Scallions, sesame seeds, herbs like cilantro

Picnic Peanut Noodles RECIPE

Serves 6-8.
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 lime, juice
1 inch ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp hot water

1 pound noodles
1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
4-5 scallions, chopped
Chili crunch, for topping

Directions:

• For sauce, stir together ingredients and then add hot water to thin the sauce. Set aside.

• Cook noodles until all dente. Drain noodles and rinse them with cold water to stop the cooking.

• Toss noodles with sauce to coat well. Transfer to bowls or a storage container and top with edamame, peanuts, and scallion.

• Serve noodles at room temperature with chili crunch on top.

Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days (depending on toppings - herbs won’t last long). Reheat with hot water to bring sauce back to life.