A few weeks ago I had a hankering for sesame noodles and picked up some sweet potato "noodles" (they are just sweet potatoes) at Whole Foods. I haven't yet invested in a spiralizer so I was psyched to see WF carry a huge variety of vegetable "noodles" recently - zucchini, sweet potato, etc. I googled a quick recipe for peanut sauce and stumbled upon this super easy one.
THIS RECIPE IS SO GOOD. Like so good that I texted anyone I could think of that might appreciate a totally vegan/gluten free win like this, gushing about it's deliciousness. It also makes great leftovers. I doubled the sauce recipe as I like a lot of sauce
Also - this bowl is not small. My wine glass is just especially large :)
The recipe below is verbatim from the original author - my edits are in italics!
sweet potato noodles + sweet and spicy peanut sauce
If you do not own a spiralizer or a julienne peeler, you can also use a regular vegetable peeler or a box grater by grating or peeling lengthwise to get long-style noodles. If you're looking to buy a spiralizer, THIS ONE by Ali of Inspiralized is my favorite.
SERVES 2
INGREDIENTS
for the sweet and spicy peanut sauce:
1/4 cup of peanut or almond butter (I used peanut butter)
2 tablespoons of tamari or coconut aminos (I used tamari + Bragg's Aminos)
2 tablespoons of brown rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1 tablespoon of hot sauce (I used + recommend siracha)
a thumbnail sized piece of ginger, peeled (be easy on the ginger, a little goes a long way!)
1 small garlic clove, peeled
2 teaspoons of honey (I cut this in half + used agave instead)
1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
1 very large (or 2 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled, and spiralized or julienned with a julienne peeler (I purchased a clam shell of these at Whole Foods!)
a couple tablespoons of grapeseed oil, or another neutral high-heat oil
toppings:
2 tablespoons of gomasio or sesame seeds
2 tablespoons of chives, minced
1/3 cup of purple cabbage, shredded (I left out the cabbage the second time I made these, I thought it was bitter)
some crushed salted nuts (peanuts or cashews) (I didn't have any so I left these out as well)
METHOD
Make the sweet + spicy peanut sauce:
Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a food processor and run continuously until smooth. Add about 2 tablespoons of water, or enough until the mixture is thin enough to coat the noodles (but thick enough to coat the back of a spoon).
Make the sweet potato noodles, cook them, and serve:
Using a spiralizer or a julienne peeler, make (long) noodles with the sweet potato.
In a large cast iron, add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and heat over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is browned and cooked through. Transfer to a large bowl.
Pour the 3/4 of the sauce and the gomasio (or sesame seeds) over the sweet potato noodles and toss gently with tongs until the noodles are evenly coated. Place the noodles into individual serving bowls, drizzle a little more sauce over the top, and finish with a pinch of the cabbage, and a sprinkle of the chives and nuts. Serve warm.