Recipe: Peanut Sauce

Post by Paula Jahn, Co-owner and Registered Dietitian & Cooking Instructor at Nourish Northwest

 

Peanut sauce is a versatile, balanced sauce that uses many kitchen staples. I love it tossed with warm noodles or rice and lots of sautéed vegetables. It is comfort food at is finest.

 

It is also a great dip for raw vegetables or chicken satay.

Thin the sauce out with a bit more warm water for a flavorful peanut salad dressing.

One trick our cooking class participants find most amazing is the use of the Microplane grater/zester on frozen ginger. I use the same method on whole garlic cloves to finely “chop” the garlic for sauces and dressings.

The recipe below can be adapted to use almost any unsweetened natural nut or seed butter. Adjust the other ingredients to taste.

 

Peanut Sauce

Makes about 1 cup of sauce

Ingredients

½ cup natural creamy peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter

2-3 Tbs tamari or soy sauce

¼ cup warm water

2 Tbs brown rice vinegar (use unseasoned rice vinegar if you can’t find it)

Juice of ½ lemon or lime (about 2 Tbs)

1 garlic clove, finely grated

3/4 inch fresh ginger, finely grated

2 Tbs brown rice syrup or 1 Tbs honey

½ tsp toasted sesame oil

Dash of fish sauce, optional

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

 

Preparation

Whisk all ingredients in a medium bowl.