Peanut Butter Udon Noodles
We all know when life gets busy, it’s hard to think of something delicious and nutritious to make for dinner. This is where my Peanut Butter Udon Noodles come in! I am terrible guilty of getting side tracked, running out of time before I need to throw something together that will fill us up, be pretty nutritious and delicious. This recipe has become a quick favourite in our house.
Why This Recipe Is Amazing
Flavour & Texture: Thick chewy noodles in a creamy Asian peanut satay style sauce with fresh tender vegetables.
Difficulty & Time: 1/5. Stir the sauce ingredients together, cook the chicken (or other protein), cook the vegetables and noodles, combine and you done in under 30 mins!
Versatility: Chicken, pork, turkey, beef, tofu – it can all work! Play around with any vegetables you like that you like such as corn and carrot, heck you can even save time with those frozen vegetable packets. Don’t have or like Udon? Try different noodles like Ramen or Hokkien too!
What is Udon Noodles and can they be substituted?
Udon noodles are a type of thick, chewy white Japanese noodle made from wheat flour, water, and salt. They are typically used in a variety of Japanese dishes, such as udon soup, stir-fries, and cold salads.
If you’re looking to substitute udon noodles, you can use other types of noodles, like ramen, soba, rice, or even spaghetti. Be aware the texture and flavour of the dish will be different, so it’s important to consider how the substitution will affect the overall dish.
What Main Ingredients Are Needed
- Peanut Butter: The base of the sauce and the real VIP. PB adds a creamy element and helps create a nice thick homogenous sauce. I prefer a crunchy variety to also add some texture to the dish but you can replace with some chopped peanuts. Avoid peanut butter with too much sugar or tweak the amount of honey and soy sauce to balance as this sauce is more savoury than sweet.
- Soy Sauce: Light soy is usually the standard unless specified but you can use a little of both if you’d like to boost the flavour and richer colour. Light soy has a lighter colour and less intense soy flavour but it is saltier. Dark soy is often thicker, richer in umami flavour but less salty.
- Honey: We are trying to balance the salty and creamy elements with some sweetness. Swap out of your preferred sweetener such as brown sugar, maple syrup etc but remember to ABT Always be Tasting- taste test throughout and add more as you go. You cant take away so its better to build on sweetness.
- Fresh Garlic & Ginger: Flavour flavour flavour! These guys a going to give you a huge hit, don’t go easy on either.
- Hot Water: Used to help softened the peanut butter and thin out the sauce.
- Fresh or Frozen Vegetables: When i say this recipe is versatile, i mean it. You can add most vegetables on offer. I usually go for spring onion/scallion, big fat Portobello mushrooms and snow peas. I also like broccoli, carrot, corn. Use what you have in the fridge or freezer. The frozen steam-fresh packets are great or Asian-style bulk packets.
- Szechuan chilli oil: This Szechuan chilli oil recipe is great on everything! Wonderfully spicy with a nice hit of numbing Szechuan peppercorns and fragrant spices. It will be your new secret ingredient. If you don’t have it on hand, regular chilli oil or hot sauce can also work.
- Protein – Chicken, Pork, Tofu: This recipe is super versatile. I usually use sliced chicken breast but sliced or ground pork, beef and turkey can also work. It’s a great way to add protein to you diet.
- Udon noodles: The star of the show is the noodles. Udon are very thick, chewy noodles made from wheat flour. Don’t have or like Udon? This dish works great with ramen, soba or other noodles too.
How to make the Peanut Butter Noodles
- Create the Sauce
- In a bowl, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, chilli oil and water. Whisk until well combined then set aside.
- Cook the Protein & Vegetables
- Over medium heat, add olive oil to a large frying pan. Add your choice of protein (chicken, pork, tofu etc) and fry until browned, opaque and tender.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until they have softened. If using other hardier vegetables such as carrots, broccoli etc, this will be a good time to cook them too.
- Add the snow peas, spring onion and sauce, cooking for 3-5 minutes to soften the vegetables and heat the sauce.
- Prepare the udon noodles according to the package directions.
- Bring it all together
- Thoroughly mix the noodles in the pan with the protein, vegetables and sauce, making sure everything is evenly coated. Taste and tweak flavours to your preference. If necessary, add a little more warm water if the sauce is too thick.
- Serve
- Top with spring onion and chopped peanuts and enjoy!
Setting You Up For Success – Tips, Tricks & FAQs
- ABT (Always be Tasting):
- Taste test throughout and add spices, seasoning more as you go rather than all at the end. You can’t take away so it’s better to build on flavours
Adding peanut butter to your noodles helps to give a wonderful creamy flavour but it also thickens the sauce.
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. To preserve its freshness ensure it is in an airtight container.
No worries, simply double (or triple) the sauce ingredients and add as normal. Adding a splash of water will also help thin the sauce and make the noodles a little saucier.
The easiest way is in the microwave for around 2 minutes or in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 1-2 tbsp water before reheating to help thin out the sauce and re-enliven it.
Udon noodles that have been cooked in a shouldn’t be frozen. The moisture will ruin the texture of the noodles.
Did you make this recipe?
Let us know how it turned out for you! Comment below, tag @missmolly_makes on Instagram using #missmollymakes or visit us LIVE at twitch.tv/missmollymakes.com
Peanut Butter Udon Noodles
Equipment
- large frying pan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1½ tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½-1 tsp fresh ginger finely grated
- ¼ tsp Szechuan chilli oil
- ¼ cup hot water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 450 gm (1 lb) protein – chicken, pork, tofu etc sliced, diced or minced
- 1-2 stalk (1 stalk) spring onion/scallion finely sliced
- 200 gm (2½ cups) portobello mushrooms sliced
- 150 gm (2 cups) snow peas
- 400 gm (14 oz) udon noodles
Serve
- chopped peanuts
- spring onion/scallion
Instructions
Create the sauce
- In a bowl, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, chilli oil and water. Whisk until well combined then set aside.
Cook the protein & vegetables
- Over medium heat, add olive oil in a large frying pan. Add your choice of protein (chicken, pork, tofu etc) and fry until browned, opaque and tender.
- Add the mushrooms, cooking for 4-5 minutes , or until they have softened. If using other hardier vegetables such as carrot, broccoli etc, this will be a good time to cook them too.
- Add the snow peas, spring onion and sauce, cooking for 3-5 minutes to soften the vegetables and heat the sauce.
Prepare the udon noodles according to package directions.
Bring it all together
- Thoroughly mix the noodles in the pan with the protein, vegetables and sauce, making sure everything is evenly coated. Taste and tweak flavours to your preference. If necessary, add a little more warm water if the sauce is too thick.
Serve
- Top with spring onion and chopped peanuts and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Former operating room Nurse and self-taught home cook + IT Engineer passionate about Approachable, No-Nonsense recipes to help you level up in the kitchen. We create simplified dishes for busy people with easy-to-find ingredients!
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Saw Molly make this on Twitch and had to try it! Not much of a cook but this was a super easy recipe to follow – I’ve never even heard of Udon Noodles and now will be getting them regularly. I used frozen veggies, swapped the chicken for mince, and also left out the chilli oil, and it still turn out good enough that my fussy-eating partner was impressed. Really liked the sauce and was surprised how well it came together. A great quick and cheap recipe and something a bit different to what I usually cook. Absolutely will be making this a regular in our household, thank you Molly!
Oh goodness this makes me smile the biggest smile! I am so happy you’ve found something that fits so perfectly for your family. It is definitely a winner and I’m so happy you are apart of our stream family. Thanks Crystal <3 xx M