Mazen loves noodles. I love nut butter. Matt loves soba noodles. So this recipe was born to make the whole family happy!
Matt has been coming home from work at about 5pm and taking Mazen to the park for a little post-nap playtime (Mazen has been taking crazy long naps these days!). This gives me a solid hour to make dinner and tidy up a bit.
I crank up my Michael Buble Pandora station…
…and pour a little wine. (Wine makes cooking SO much more fun!) This time is so precious and rare since having a baby. Also a great opportunity for me to start sharing some more new recipes!
At heart of this recipe are soba noodles.
These Japanese buckwheat noodles are a complete protein and taste delicious.
And they cook super fast – in just 4 minutes.
The vegetables I chose for this dish were snow peas and red pepper (cooked with a little garlic). But you could also use broccoli, bok choy, sprouts and more.
The peanut sauce I made is thick and a wonderful blend of sweet and salty. I would recommend a drippy peanut butter, like Trader Joes or Whole Foods brands, so mixing is easier.
Classic noodle flavors: rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce and ginger.
Plus brown sugar for sweetness!
Oh yeahhhh…
Lastly peanuts are a crunchy garnish to finish the dish
These noodles can be served warm or chilled – your choice!
They are great for dinner (add tofu, shrimp or chicken for hearty appetites!) or lunch the next day.
Nutty Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 9 ounce package of soba noodles or whole wheat spaghetti
- 2 cups snow peas
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 glove garlic
- Salt for pasta water
- 1/4 cup peanut butter drippy style is best
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 pinches ground ginger
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup peanuts
Instructions
- Thinly slice red bell pepper and wash snow peas.
- Bring a big pot of water to boil and salt to season. Cook soba noodles according to the package directions.
- Heat a skillet to medium high and add cooking oil to saute the pepper and snow peas, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute about 2 more minutes.
- In a mason jar, combine peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and brown sugar. Shake to combine.
- Toss noodles and veggies with sauce.
- Chop peanuts and add to bowls as garnish.
Kari says
Yum! I know what I’m having for dinner tonight!!!
Heather @ eSmoothie Recipes says
Seriously! Me, too!
Livi @ Eat, Pray, Work It Out says
I love this! I don’t eat peanuts though, do you think a different nut butter could be subbed?
KathEats says
Sunflower!
Elizabeth says
I could see it with tahini!
KathEats says
ooo great idea!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
Ooh, I think I have everything on hand to make this and I’ve been craving homemade Chinese. I think this’ll scratch the itch!
Ellen says
Oh man that looks wonderful! Last time I made soba noodles and peanut sauce I used a lot of peppers and they burned my mouth:)
Aly H says
Yum!!! I love everything about this recipe- soba noodles, peanut based sauce, nommy veggies 🙂 I love having these kind of bowls chilled for lunches!
Jeri says
What kind of holder is that for your tablet? I want to buy one so I stop using my macbook on the counters. WS sells a 2 piece one that costs about $199 total for stand and speaker, which I would need because I don’t have a radio in the kitchen. Trying to spend less on good products instead of being loyal to WS cash register.
KathEats says
It’s the Belkin stand from this post:https://www.katheats.com/new-stuff-and-a-tablet-giveaway
Anoushe says
I have a similar recipe but use mirin instead of brown sugar 🙂 I love using mirin to caramelize onions before adding the noodles and the sauce..yumm!
Jackie says
Yum!
Ali @ Peaches and Football says
Boy this looks delicious! I’ve never had soba noodles before – do they taste similar to regular pasta? It looks just about the same…
I need to add some sesame oil to my list the next time I find myself by a Trader Joe’s!
KathEats says
Yes they are pretty similar , especially to whole wheat pasta
Bethany Imondi says
This looks great! I’m not a peanut butter eater (gasp!), but I bet I could swap in some almond butter and add crunchy almonds on top, too!
Alex @ Kenzie Life says
This looks like the perfect weeknight meal–quick, easy, healthy, and delicious! I’ve made similar sauces before but never with brown sugar so I’m excited to try this version!
Ella says
This looks AWESOME. We are big fans of Asian dishes+soba+PB+snow peas… Can’t wait to give this one a try! Too funny that you listen to MB while cooking- my grandma has the BIGGEST collection of his CDs. Lol!
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Katie says
Looks yummy, we love nutty noodles here! Is your cookware Calphalon? After using a Pampered Chef nonstick set that I really liked for about 7 years, the nonstick coating was coming off and I needed a new set. I purchased a 12 piece Simply Calphalon nonstick set this week, but I’m not convinced that it is the set I want. What set do you have and are you happy with it?
KathEats says
That is what I have for saute pans, but my stock pot is Cuisinart brand and I don’t love it.
ARPL says
This is sort of similar to one of my fave dishes I found on Runner’s World http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/soba-noodles-peanut-sauce. I like to also add in 2 cups of cooked broccoli.
Simple Green Moms says
I think you are on to something with the wine = happy cooking =) definitely going to have to try that AND this recipe!! YUM
Leah (goodnight cheese) says
This looks so yummy, love the veggies.
What makes some brands of peanut butter “drippy” and others less so? I’m assuming it’s something in the added ingredients.
Also, I think you meant clove of garlic, not glove. Don’t know if I’d find that in my supermarket!
Alexa @ simpleeatsfood.com says
I love Soba noodles…they’re so satisfying!
Chelsea @ Designs on Dinner says
Yum! I haven’t bought soba noodles in awhile. I love using powdered peanut butter to make peanut sauces for stir frys–that way, I can make it as thick or thin as I want…it’s perfect!
Kel says
This looks great! I am going to blend up this sauce, but use a date for the sweetness.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says
Haha I have a Michael Buble station on my Pandora as well! It’s my dream to have him sing at my wedding… My future imaginary wedding, that is.
kelly says
That looks sooo good and easy! What an enjoyable hour to yourself!
Anna says
I’m not sure who Michael Bublee is, but Michael Bublé might know him.
KathEats says
Haha. Maybe Buble with champagne bubbles?
christine says
Peanut dressing and veggies/noodles together is the best!! I have been using a very similar recipe from Smitten Kitchen for a couple years. The dressing has the same ingredients but with lots of fresh ginger, which really makes it sing, all ground up with a blender. I double or triple the recipe and keep a mason jar full in the fridge for a week of lunchtime salads — similar to your noodles but I use loads of fresh veggies (peppers, cucumbers, red cabbage, green onions, carrots, snap peas), plus cilantro. And, I squeeze a half of lime on the dressed vegetables and noodles right before eating.
Ashley @ Saving Money in your Twenties says
This sounds amazing! I like that it doesn’t use too many “crazy” (i.e. things I don’t currently have in the pantry, haha) ingredients. Also: what on earth were you using to scoop the PB in that pic?! Its like a peanut butter waterfall! ha!
KathEats says
Just a knife!!
Cathy says
Excited to try this new recipe Kath. Keep them coming. 🙂
Leslee @ Her Happy Balance says
Yum. I’ve been meaning to pick up sesame oil and rice wine vinegar. I’ve been trying to get more into cooking with an Asian flare. I just picked up fish sauce…so we’ll see what happens next!
Jenny @ Smiling Miler says
Noodles and peanut butter are my two favorite foods, but I’ve never thought of combining them! Can’t wait to try it out!
Kate @ Babaganosh.org says
Great name for the dish! The peanut sauce looks really good, I’ll have to try making it with your recipe. The one I make is usually soupier, but I like the idea of the super thick peanut sauce. More flavor that way!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
This sounds delicious and I LOVE that it is vegan!! I am excited to try it 🙂
Grace says
Yum!! That’s so nice Matt gets to leave work early. What do you do during m’s nap time now?
KathEats says
Work work work!
Laura @ She Eats Well says
I am planning to make this tonight with spaghetti squash – I love a good peanut sauce!
lori says
Question for you about nap time. I’ve been wondering this after seeing that lots of toddlers take an afternoon nap when they drop to just one. If you put Mazen down after lunch, doesn’t he sometimes sleep until too close to bed time? It seems so common though to do the nap after lunch. My little one dropped down to one nap a while back, but we do it closer to 11am. This way, if he sleeps 2 or 3 hours, it’s not too close to bed time. He gets up in the morning around 6am, we have breakfast and snack and then a late lunch after nap. The problem is, if he takes a short nap then the evening can be pretty fussy. I’m not sure which is a better schedule!
KathEats says
Surprisingly he does still go down for bedtime. If he sleeps from 2-4 he’ll still go down at 8 to 8:30. One day he slept until 5:30 and still went down at 8:30. Although sometimes he talks in his crib for a good half hour after bedtime. I just don’t think he’s quite ready for nap earlier than 1:30 or so.
lori says
My husband is the one home with our child during the day, so I don’t want to be dictating the schedule to him (even though sometimes I want to!). He says he’s ready early, so I just have to believe him. If it were me, I think I’d try to have lunch earlier and nap a little later. Oh well! Thanks for the reply 🙂
Kate says
I make a similar recipe that has these components plus some Thai Chili Gariic Sauce. If you wanted to try some heat!
Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves says
I love soba noodles and nut butter too! This looks like the perfect summer dish.
Rachel @ Lou Lou Belle says
Where did you get that fun scooper in the brown sugar??? Adorable! I need that!
KathEats says
It’s just a metal tablespoon!
Meg says
I have a bunch of peas that I need to use and this looks like the perfect recipe! Do your soba noodles stick together? Mine always do and if you have any tips to stop this – let me know!
KathEats says
They don’t but I try to use them quickly after draining. Maybe that helps?
Ella P says
Lovely recipe, thank you Kath. I love soba noodles and this recipe is quick and tasty.
Ella P
Katie @ Real Food Katie's Way says
Kath this looks fabulous! I love sipping on wine while making dinner…Especially with a little Buble in the background!
Leah says
I made this tonight with whole wheat spaghetti noodles – I can only imagine how great it will be with soba noodles! Thanks for a great, easy recipe!