Currently cooking out of Simple Weeknight Favorites from America’s Test Kitchen

I have no excuse for leaving this blog quiet for so long. Well, I have lots of excuses, but they are all pretty boring and standard. So please accept my apologies. Shall we move on? To, say, grilled flank steak with spicy noodles?

I was amazed at how quickly I was able to put this meal together. While the steak was grilling, I made the spicy peanut sauce in a blender. While the steak was resting, I tossed fresh Chinese noodles into boiling water for a couple of minutes, drained them and tossed them with a couple tablespoons of the sauce. Slice the steak and dinner was served. And it was good. Really, really good. Like I love this sauce and will be using it constantly, on everything (well, maybe not pancakes), all the time. Fortunately, the recipe makes quite a bit more sauce than you need.

To make the sauce you blend until smooth peanut butter, light coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, sugar and a couple teaspoons of Thai red curry paste. Watch out for the Thai red curry paste. The recipe calls for 4 teaspoons, but that was just a bit too spicy for me. I ended up adding a bit more lime juice and coconut milk to tone down the heat. The sauce tastes fresh, a bit sweet from the sugar, but more tart due to the lime juice. The peanut flavor is pretty dominant, but I could hardly taste the coconut milk. And the fish sauce and garlic add just a touch of salty funk. I’ve already used the sauce on grilled chicken and a veggie pasta salad. I can see using the sauce on fish, such as cod, or even with roasted or steamed cauliflower. This is quickly becoming my go-to Asian peanut sauce.