Spicy Peanut Noodles

Easy spicy peanut noodles recipe with delicious ramen noodles, and creamy spicy peanut butter sauce. If you love quick, hassle-free, bold, and spicy noodles, this is the right recipe for you! Ready in 10 minutes and perfect for busy weeknights.

What do you cook when you have a busy schedule? On my busy days, I make quick and easy dishes. Spicy Chilli Garlic Noodles, Peanut butter chicken and Mushroom Fried Rice are my top favourites, quick-fix meals, which you might also love.

When In Doubt, Make Peanut Noodles!

This spicy peanut noodle is one of our family's favourite lazy day dinners and ticks all the boxes for noodle lovers!

Quick, comforting, and ready in under 15 minutes, it’s creamy, nutty, a little tangy, and spicy. My mom used to make it for us on busy weeknights. She would often top it with a soft-boiled egg, crispy dried shrimps, fried shallots and toasted crushed peanuts. 

The peanut sauce needs no cooking and is easy to customise with chicken, tofu, or shrimp, making it a no-stress noodle meal everyone loves. 

Ingredients You'll Need

For exact measurements and a printable recipe, please scroll down to the recipe card.

Choose your noodles

• I used ramen noodles in this recipe. You can use any of your favourite noodles or pasta, from Asian to Italian. My top favourites are ramen, udon, egg, and pad Thai-style rice noodles. 

For Chilli Oil

• Dried crushed chilli
• Fresh Garlic
• Sesame seeds
• Cooking oil - preferably neutral-flavour oil

For Peanut Sauce

• Peanut butter
• Sesame oil
• Rice vinegar
• Regular soy sauce
• Dark soy sauce
• Vegetable or Chicken bouillon

Garnish

• Spring onions ( scallions )
• Roasted peanuts or add your favourite crunchy nuts

Khin's Quick Tips

Highly recommend using organic smooth peanut butter, which contains 100% peanuts and has a naturally rich, creamy, nutty flavour. It doesn’t contain any palm oil, added sugar, or additives. 

Ramen noodles are the best texture for soaking up the sauce. You can use up any instant ramen packets sitting in the pantry.

If you are using instant ones, discard the seasoning sachets, boil the noodles according to the packet instructions, and toss with this peanut sauce. 

How to Make Peanut Noodles with Spicy Sauce

1. Make Chilli Oil

• In a heat-proof bowl, add crushed chilli flakes, minced garlic, and sesame seeds.
  In a small pot, heat neutral-flavour oil until smoking hot. Turn off the heat once the smoke starts to appear.
• Gently pour hot oil over the chilli garlic bowl and let it sizzle for a few seconds. Stir it well and set it aside. ( If you are using store-bought chilli oil, you can skip this step. )

2. Boil the Noodles

• Fill the pot with water, bring it to a boil, and add your noodles.
• Cook the noodles for 3-4 minutes or until al dante. ( Cooking time can be varied depending on the types of noodles you use. Please check the noodle pack instructions and adjust the boiling time accordingly. ) 

3. Make Spicy Peanut Sauce

• While the noodles are cooking, you can prepare the peanut sauce. In a ramen bowl or a large serving bowl, add the prepared chilli oil, peanut butter, regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
• Scoop a couple of tablespoons of boiling noodle water and pour it into the sauce. Mix everything well until the sauce becomes smooth and creamy. 

4. Combine Noodles and Sauce

• Once the noodles are cooked, drain the water out and place them in the peanut sauce. Coat the noodles well with the sauce. ( Add more hot water if the sauce is too thick and sticky. )
• Divide the noodles into each serving bowl. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, and chopped spring onions.

Yes, you can adjust the flavours!

• Can I use regular sweetened peanut butter? Yes, you can if you have it on hand, but please be aware that the sauce might be sweeter than raw peanut butter. 
• How about crunchy peanut butter? It’s a great option if you love a bit of crunchy texture in the sauce. 
• If you are not a peanut fan, you can easily swap peanut butter for sesame paste, almond butter, soy butter, chickpea butter, or a choice of no-nut butter.

Our Favourite Toppings

For a bit of crunch, add some roasted crushed peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, crispy fried shallots, or fried garlic. 

If you love extra veggies, topped with fresh spring onions, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, steamed/blanched broccoli, pak choi (bok choy). Chinese smashed cucumber salad, or Japanese Cucumber Salad, goes really well with this spicy noodles. 

Make it a protein-rich peanut noodles by adding simple boiled eggs, Japanese ramen eggs, Korean Mayak eggs, Char Siu, Cooked Prawns, Soy Sauce Chicken, or any leftover cooked chicken or seafood. 

How We Prep Ahead and Store Leftovers

You can prepare the chilli oil and chilli peanut sauce one day ahead. Just before serving, boil the noodles and toss with the prepared peanut sauce and chilli oil.

Store leftovers in a container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.

FAQs for Noodles and Peanut Sauce

Can I use pasta for this recipe?

Spaghetti or angel hair pasta goes well with this chilli peanut sauce. Flat pasta, fettuccine, linguine, or tagliatelle are also great.

Can you add ready-made store-bought chilli oil?

Yes, you can save more time by using store-bought chilli oil, chilli garlic oil, chilli peanut oil, or chilli black bean oil. If you already have Homemade Chili Oil, you can add it to the sauce.

How do you reheat it?

When peanut noodles are left out for too long, they can become dry, thick, and sticky. To loosen the sauce, add a splash of water and reheat it in the microwave until hot.

Do you serve it hot or cold?

I personally love to have it warm. If you like it cold, just like cold noodle salad, once you've boiled the noodles, rinse them with cold water before adding to the sauce.

More Easy & Spicy Noodles

From Spicy Chicken Pasta to Spicy Seafood Udon, the following are more of our easy noodles and spicy pasta recipes worth trying out!

If you like these spicy peanut butter noodles, you will love our reader-favourite Spicy Peanut Butter Chicken recipe as well. It's creamy, flavourful, and easy to make.

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