Peanut Sauce

Peanut sauce is very popular worldwide, although it is a Southeast Asian cuisine. It is a savory and sweet condiment. Its texture is creamy and provides umami flavors. The main ingredient of the peanut sauce is peanut butter, which is healthy as peanuts contain good fats.

Peanut sauce easily pairs up noodles, salads, or desserts. Homemade peanut sauce reduces the cooking time. Once you prepare the peanut sauce, enjoy various special dishes throughout the month using it.

This article will present a basic peanut sauce recipe and strategies for making spicy, sweet, and tangy variations of peanut butter sauce. Our experts also suggest ideas on the use of peanut sauce. So, continue reading till the end.

Ingredients for Peanut Sauce

Peanut sauce requires various spices and flavoring agents. Let me mention the ingredient list.

1. Peanut Butter – ½ cup (smooth or crunchy)
2. Soy Sauce – 2 tablespoons 
3. Rice Vinegar – 1 tablespoon
4. Honey or Maple Syrup – 1 to 2 tablespoons (for sweetness)
5. Sesame Oil – 1 to 2 tablespoons (for a rich flavor)
6. Warm Water – ¼ cup (to thin the consistency)
7. Minced Garlic – 2 cloves (adds flavor) 
8. Grated Fresh Ginger – 1 teaspoon  (optional but recommended)
9. Chili flakes or Chili Paste – ½ teaspoon (to adjust the sweetness)

 How to Make Basic Peanut Sauce: Simple 5 Steps

We will tell you the basic Asian peanut sauce recipe in this section. Besides, we will discuss 3 variations of the peanut sauce recipe in another section. Now, let us tell you the basic process of making peanut sauce. Experts have divided this process into simple 5 steps.

Step 1: Prepare a Paste of Peanut Butter by Mixing Liquid Ingredients

Peanut butter is the base of this peanut butter sauce. At first, you need to mix the peanut butter and liquid ingredients.

• Take a dry, clean, and large bowl and measuring cups & spoons.
• Measure peanut butter and put the peanut butter into the bowl.
• Now, measure soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, or maple syrup one by one using appropriate measuring equipment and combine them into the bowl of peanut butter.
• Stir using a whisk until you get a smooth paste.
• You need to make sure that all the ingredients are mixed properly with an even taste and texture. 

Step 2: Add Flavoring Agents

The base of the peanut sauce is ready. It is time to add flavoring agents to make the sauce flavorful and tasty.

• Add minced garlic, grated fresh ginger, and chili flakes or chili paste to the peanut butter paste.
• Similarly, stir using a whisk.
• After proper mixing, you will get a smooth mixture full of flavors.

Note: If you don’t have a whisk, you can use a spoon to mix properly. 

Step 3: Adjust Consistency

The consistency of the mixture you get is not appropriate to become a sauce. So, you have to make the consistency thin slightly.

• Take ¼ cup of warm water.
• Then, slowly add the warm water to the peanut butter sauce mixture.
• Add 1 tablespoon of warm water at a time and repeat the process.
• Stir the mixture using a whisk each time after adding water. It will help to prepare a homogenized mixture.
• If you want a thick consistency, you can reduce the amount of water. You can use the thick peanut sauce as a peanut dipping sauce.
• On the other hand, you can add more water if you want a thin consistency. You can use the thin peanut sauce as a creamy peanut dressing.

Note: Don’t use extremely hot water, it may separate the oil from the peanut butter.  

Step 4: Customize the Taste

This step is specially made by our professionals. We will tell you how you can make the peanut sauce perfect for your test buds.

• Taste the peanut sauce.
• Then, if you want a sweet sauce, you can add more honey or maple syrup.
• For a spicy peanut sauce, you can add more chili flakes or chili paste.
• Peanut butter is salty itself. That’s why we don’t use any extra table salt. However, if you want salty peanut sauce, you can add a pinch of kosher salt.
• Additionally, for a tangy taste, you can add more rice vinegar.
• So, this step enables you to make the peanut sauce according to your preference. 

Step 5: Serve & Store   

• After preparing a well-balanced, creamy, savory peanut sauce, transfer the sauce into a glass jar or container. You can also garnish the sauce using fresh cilantro or parsley leaves. Finally, the sauce is ready to use.
• Storing peanut sauce is common. For storing the sauce, place it into a dry, airtight glass container and keep it in the refrigerator. You can use this peanut sauce for up to 1 week if you follow this process.

Tips: Refrigeration may make the sauce thick in consistency. So, you can add a small amount of warm water and stir the sauce to make the consistency thin before using the refrigerated peanut sauce.

3 Popular Variations of Peanut Sauce (Spicy, Sweet, and Tangy)

We have already discussed the ingredients and steps of making the basic peanut sauce. In this sector, we will discuss how you can simply prepare 3 variations of peanut sauce from the basic version.

1. Spicy Peanut Sauce

Spicy lovers want spicy peanut butter.

Additional Ingredients

• Sriracha (1 teaspoon)
• Cayenne pepper (1 teaspoon)
• Chopped fresh chilies (1 teaspoon)

Method: Add any of these ingredients while adding the flavoring agents and stir properly. The quantity should be according to your spicy tolerance.

2. Sweet Peanut Sauce

Sweet lovers can’t tolerate spicy peanut sauce. They want a sweeter version. 

Additional Ingredients

• Extra honey, or maple syrup, or coconut sugar (1 teaspoon)
• Corn syrup (1 tablespoon)

Method: You can increase the amount of honey or corn syrup in the recipe. Additionally, you can add high fructose corn syrup. Corn syrup is twice sweeter than honey.

Moreover, you can reduce the amount of chili paste and rice vinegar to make the peanut sauce sweeter. 

3. Tangy Peanut Sauce

Tangy peanut sauce goes better with noodles or salad.

Additional Ingredients

• Extra rice vinegar (1 teaspoon)
• Lime juice (1 teaspoon)
• Tamarind paste (1 teaspoon)

Method: You can add any of these or all of these ingredients as extra flavoring agents to prepare the tangy version of peanut sauce. Then, mix properly.

5 Vital Uses of Peanut Sauce

Peanut sauce is a popular dressing or dipping sauce. You can use peanut sauce with various dishes. Here, we will discuss 5 vital uses of peanut sauce.

1. Peanut Sauce with Noodles

Peanut sauce can be a perfect dressing for noodles.

• You need to boil the noodles first.
• Then drain extra water from the noodles.
• Toss the boiled noodles with peanut sauce, some sautéed vegetables, and scrambled eggs.
• The noodle with peanut sauce is ready. 

2. Peanut Sauce with Salad

Drizzling peanut sauce over salads can increase the taste of a normal salad.

• Take lettuce, cilantro, spinach, cabbage, cucumber, bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes,
• Wash them and cut them into small pieces.
• Take them in a large bowl.
• Drizzle some peanut butter and olive oil over the veggies.
• Enjoy delicious salad at home.

3. Peanut Sauce with Spring Rolls

Spicy and tangy peanut sauce is a perfect sauce for a spring roll.

• Prepare a spring roll filled with vegetables, chicken, or fish.
• Then dip the spring roll into the peanut and enjoy the roll. 

4. Peanut Sauce with Fruits

You can also eat fruits with the sweet peanut sauce.

• Take an apple.
• Wash and remove the peel of the apple.
• Then, cut it into small slices.
• Dip the slices into peanut butter, sprinkle sesame seeds over the slice.
• Enjoy your meal!

Note: Apples, bananas, strawberries, pears, pineapple, etc. are good options to enjoy with sweet peanut butter sauce.

5. Peanut Sauce with Grilled Meats

You can pear up grilled meat with spicy or tangy peanut sauce.

• Use peanut sauce as a dipping sauce with grilled chicken, poultry, beef, or pork.

FAQs

Can I Make Peanut Sauce Without Coconut Milk?

Yes, you can definitely make peanut sauce without coconut milk. Coconut milk is not a mandatory ingredient for peanut sauce. Coconut milk is added to peanut sauce to get a creamy texture. If you want a creamy texture without coconut milk, you can add Greek yogurt instead of coconut milk. 

How Do I Store Leftover Peanut Sauce?

You should follow a proper storage technique to store the leftover peanut sauce.

• Transfer the leftover peanut sauce to a dry, glass jar.
• Close the lid of the jar and airtight properly.
• Place the jar into the refrigerator.
• You can use this leftover peanut sauce for 4 – 7 days.
• Refrigerated peanut sauce becomes thick in consistency. Before using the leftover sauce, add a little amount of warm water and stir to make the consistency thinner.

What Dishes Pair Well With Peanut Sauce?

You can pair noodles, salad, spring rolls, grilled meat, and even fresh fruits with peanut sauce. Use tangy peanut sauce for noodles, spicy peanut sauce for grilled meat or spring rolls, and sweet peanut sauce with fruits.

Conclusion

If you want to elevate meal items like noodles, salad, rice, and meat items with nutty flavor, peanut sauce is a great option. Drizzle peanut sauce over your food; then you can enjoy extra delicious food.

You can use specific variations between sweet, spicy, or tangy with specific food items. For example, you can pair fruits with sweet peanuts, meat items with spicy peanut sauce, and noodles with tangy peanut sauce.

Follow our recipe and experts’ suggestions to prepare and customize the peanut sauce that suits your taste. We recommend preparing peanut sauce with these 3 variations to add magical twists to your meals.