Skip eating out for this easy Thai peanut sauce noodles with ground pork. Pad Thai noodles are are covered in a flavorful Thai peanut sauce. Crunchy with cabbage and carrots you’ve got a wonderful meal with simple ingredients that are addicting in flavor.
This recipe was first published in May of 2015 and updated October, 2020
Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce – Why This Recipe Works
Who knew a big scoop of peanut butter could transform rice noodles into such a delicious meal. Simply whisked with a few Thai seasonings, some colorful veggies and browned ground pork makes a hearty and oh-so flavorful dinner.
Simply stated you’ve got an addicting and amazing plate of noodles.
As Im typing this, I want to eat it everyday.
Sweet, nutty, savory, spicy, creamy and crunchy. Let’s take a look at what goes into making this recipe.
Ingredients
Mise en place. Always gather ingredients before starting any recipe. It will save you time and organize your mind.
- Ground Pork, Just pick up a package from the grocery store. Ground pork is usually made from pork shoulder, or pork BUTT.
- Coconut Milk, A staple in Thai cooking, don’t confuse coconut milk with coconut water. Coconut milk is made by grinding the meat of a coconut. Rich floral and nutty, it adds great flavor to any dish.
- Shredded Carrots and Cabbage: Adds the crunch to this beautiful meal. They’re not cooked, they’re added raw.
- Fish Sauce, Sweet, salty, fish and funky, fish sauce brings some show-stopping flavor to any Thai recipe.
- Toasted Sesame Oil, Made from toasted Sesame Seeds, earthy and nutty, I recommend you use toasted sesame oil over regular sesame oil. The pronounced flavor rocks this dish.
- Seasoned Rice Vinegar, is regular rice vinegar seasoned with sugar and salt. I always prefer it over regular rice vinegar.
- Peanut Butter, Any brand will do, and preferably creamy.
- Rice Noodles, An Asian noodle made from rice flour and water, has a very mild flavor and chewy texture. Look for Thai rice noodles or Pad Thai noodles.
Ingredient Swaps
- Want to make this an even easier weeknight meal, purchase a package of coleslaw mix from the produce department. A mix that includes shredded carrots.
- Substitute Ground Pork with Ground Chicken. Just use your food processor to grind chicken thighs or chicken breasts. Or purchase a package of ground chicken from the market.
- Substitute Napa Cabbage for regular green cabbage.
How To Make This Recipe
Start by stirring together the easy peanut sauce with coconut milk.
- Simply combine the peanut butter, sesame oil, rice vinegar, fish sauce and coconut milk. Using a whisk, stir until well mixed. Use a large bowl because you’re going to add the rest of the ingredients to finish the dish.
- Grab a large fry pan and cook the ground pork. While the pork is cooking, cook noodles according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup of the starchy noodle water, then drain noodles in a colander.
- Drain any access grease from the pork. Then stir in the cooked noodles, cabbage, carrots and some sliced jalapenos.
- Take this mixture and add it to the large bowl of peanut sauce along with the reserved noodle water. Stir gently until well combined and serve.
- Garnish with cilantro (optional)
- Don’t forget that squeeze of fresh lime. It brightens the flavor of this dish.
Grab those chopsticks and dig in. Easy!
FAQ’s And Tips
Yes. You can make the spicy Thai peanut sauce a day ahead of time, and you can fry the ground pork in advance and then easily finish the dish.
This is one of those recipes that once those flavors marry is even better the next day. To reheat, just place a portion in the microwave and gently reheat in increments of 1 minute at 50% power. You don’t want to dry it out, so go slowly. This recipe for easy peanut sauce for noodles, is actually ver good served at room temperature.
Absolutely. Just cook the noodles according to package directions.
Recipe for Asian Noodles With Ground Pork and Peanut Sauce
I hope you give this Thai Peanut Sauce with Noodles a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating. Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes.
And if you have a favorite recipe using Pad Thai Noodles, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
Related Recipes
Thai Peanut Sauce Noodles with Ground Pork and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup peanut butter creamy
- 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 1/4 Cup coconut milk
- 8 ounces Pad Thai Noodles
- 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
- 1 pound ground pork browned
- 2 jalapeños stemmed, seeded and sliced into thin rounds
- 2 medium carrots grated
- 2 cups green cabbage very thin sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup starchy water from cooked noodles
- Cilantro for garnish
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the peanut butter, vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, coconut milk until smooth. Set aside. Use a large bowl, because you're going to add vegetables, pork and noodles later.
- Heat a fry pan over medium high heat. Add the ground pork and cook, stirring to break up the meat. Cook until cooked through. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Pad Thai noodles and cook, stirring often, until just tender, about 5 minutes or according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup of the starchy water before draining noodles.
- Add the drained noodles, pork, jalapeños, carrots, cabbage, and toss gently with the peanut sauce. Add the reserved starchy pasta water and red pepper flakes stir well.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges on the side.
Nutrition
Thai Peanut Sauce Noodles with Pork …It’s what’s for Dinner.
