Epic Peanut Sauce Recipe - Curry Trail (2024)

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This peanut sauce is EPIC! You’ll need 8 pantry ingredients and come together in just 5 minutes. The sauce is perfect to be served in so many ways, salad dressing, drizzling over Asian dishes, as a marinade, or as a dipping sauce.

Multipurpose peanut butter sauce

• It’s smooth, creamy, and has a wonderful balance of salty, sweet, acidity, and kick to it.
• Very easy to make.
• It’s an all-purpose sauce. Drizzle it over your favorite salad, toss it with zoodles/noodles, and use it as a dipping sauce for vegetables, spring rolls, or chicken satay, and use it as a marinade for chicken, and shrimp. Try it with soy sauce noodles and pad Thai noodles.
• This sauce is jam-packed with flavors, with fresh ginger-garlic-red chili paste and sesame oil.
• Make ahead and store in the fridge for about a week.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need –

All the ingredient’s exact measurements are mentioned in the recipe card below.

Ingredients notes:

1. Peanut butter – use natural unsweetened peanut butter. Creamy peanut butter is best as it creates a silky, smooth sauce.
2. Soy sauce – make sure to use low-sodium soy sauce. Tamari or coconut aminos can be substituted for soy sauce to make it gluten-free.
3. Chili paste – sambal oelek is the best Asian chili sauce to use, it gives this sauce an authentic Thai taste. If sambal oelek isn’t easily available, use any red chili paste that will add a kick. You can use sweet chili sauce for mild heat.
4. Sesame oil – toasted sesame oil is brown and has more flavor than untoasted sesame oil which is yellow. Using little sesame oil, it has a strong pungent taste. Sesame oil adds authentic Asian flavor and taste to the dish.
5. Rice vinegar – use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. White vinegar like rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar is best.
6. Honey – just a little bit to add a touch of sweetness. Substitute honey with maple syrup or agave or sugar.
7. Fresh ginger and garlic – for more flavor to the sauce. Use fresh ginger and garlic for the best flavor. Do not recommend garlic powder or ginger powder.

Step-by-step instructions

Two ways to go about making the sauce. Whisk all ingredients in a bowl or pulse everything for a few seconds in a food processor for a creamy, smooth sauce.

Step 1: Into a bowl add peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and honey.

Step 2: Grate ginger and garlic into the bowl.

Step 3: Whisk until everything comes together.

Step 4: The sauce initially will be thick in consistency. You need to bring it to a drizzle-able consistency. Add water, coconut water, or coconut milk as required to thin down the sauce.

Cook’s Tip: The consistency of the sauce can be adjusted according to how you want to use it. Drizzle-able consistency for salad dressing, for dipping purposes, keep it slightly thick. It works great for dipping spring rolls, vegetables, or chicken satay!

Step 5: Serve sauce for dipping vegetables, or drizzle it over salads or Asian dishes. You can use this sauce as marinade too. Marinate tofu or tempeh in the sauce and make a meal out of it.

Leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge for about a week.

Ways to serve Thai peanut sauce

The sauce has many ways in which you can serve it. It’s one of the most versatile sauces that can be used for –

1. As a dip – dunk vegetable sticks, chicken satay, or spring rolls in it.
2. Drizzle as a flavor enhancer – for rice bowls, Asian noodles, and stuffed potatoes, drizzle over lettuce wraps, over crunchy salad bowls. It’s terrific with grilled chicken! I love to drizzle over soy sauce noodles and pad Thai noodles.
3. Marinade – marinade tofu or tempeh in Thai peanut sauce. Tofu marinated in peanut sauce and grilled on a skillet tastes the best. You can use the sauce to marinade chicken and shrimp too.

Storage

Refrigerator – Got leftover? You can store this peanut butter sauce in the fridge for about a week. Transfer to a clean, dry jar with tight lids and store in the refrigerator.

It’s a great make-ahead sauce. You can make it well in advance and store it. If hosting a party plan ahead and make this sauce one or two days ahead and store it in the fridge. Just before serving, remove the sauce from the fridge and leave it on the counter for 30 minutes.

Freezer – For longer storage, you can freeze the sauce. Divide the sauce into serve-able portions such as an ice cube tray and freeze it for 2 hours. Once frozen, transfer into a freezer-friendly zip lock bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

To serve frozen sauce – remove the portion of sauce you want to use from the freezer and thaw it in the fridge overnight. Next day serve sauce with whatever meal you want to use it.

Useful tips

• Use natural unsweetened creamy peanut butter and low-sodium soy sauce for best results.
• Do not use garlic or ginger powder in place of fresh ingredients. Nothing can be compared to the taste fresh ingredients give. Use only freshly grated ginger and garlic.
• To make spicy sauce, increase sambal oelek (red chili paste) in the recipe.
• Adjust the consistency of the sauce as desired. Make it drizzle-able for salads or dressings. Make it a little thick for dipping purposes.

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