Chinese Peanut Sauce

This isn't a Thai peanut sauce with fish sauce in it. That is the style of peanut sauce people either love or really hate. This style is more universal. To my knowledge, everyone I've served it to has liked it. You can serve it as a veggie dip (I'm not a fan), or as your sauce on stir fry, or on a cold noodle salad. I use jarred garlic and chili puree in place of the cayenne and garlic. I always have this on hand anyway. I add a dash to any stir fry to make it a hotter Szechuan style. It's sold in the Asian foods section of the supermarket. This recipe comes from the Moosewood cookbook.

CHINESE SPICY PEANUT SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

½ cup peanut butter (I use natural style, made of peanuts and salt)

½ c hot water

2 T soy sauce

2 tsp sugar

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cider vinegar

1-2 T fresh minced cilantro

cayenne to taste

(I omitted garlic and cayenne and used garlic and chili puree)

Whisk all ingredients except cayenne together in a small bowl until uniformly mixed. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Let come to room temp before serving.

Noodle salad with peanut sauce

INGREDIENTS (off the top of my head)

Whole wheat (or regular) spaghetti or ramen noodles

been sprouts

cucumber, peeled, split lengthwise and seeded, then sliced

radishes

pea pods

thinly sliced carrot sticks

celery

chopped peanuts

cilantro