Recipe for "peanut-noodles"

NAME

     PEANUT-NOODLES - Chinese-style noodles with a  spicy  peanut
     sauce
     This recipe is not authentic Chinese; it was created by com-
     bining  readily  available  ingredients  and double-checking
     against a Satay recipe.  It's close to a Satay sauce but not
     quite  the same thing.  It's also similar to a recipe in the
     Enchanted Broccoli Forest, by Mollie Katzen.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

     500 g     fresh chinese-style noodles
     10 ml     garlic chili paste
     25 g      good peanut butter (without added sugar).
     15 ml     nam pla (fermented fish sauce)
     120 ml    water
     2 stalks  chopped scallions

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Boil a lot of water for the noodles; this  is  the
               most time-consuming step.
          (2)  Rinse and trim scallions, then slice thinly.
          (3)  In a small mixing bowl, combine peanut butter  and
               chili paste with a fork.  Mix thoroughly.
          (4)  Add water to the peanut mixture.  This is  tricky,
               since  peanut butter and water do not want to mix.
               Start with a tiny bit  of  water,  mix  thoroughly
               until  it  is  homogeneous, and then add some more
               water.  You can begin to add larger quantities  of
               water  as  the  sauce gets thinner.  The water and
               peanut butter really will mix, if you are patient.
          (5)  Continue adding water until the sauce has the con-
               sistency you want; I make it about the consistency
               of ketchup.
          (6)  Stir in the nam pla.
          (7)  Once the pot of water is boiling, cook the noodles
               until they are just done, and not mushy.
          (8)  Drain noodles and immediately mix  in  the  sauce.
               Toss until the noodles are evenly coated.
          (9)  Garnish with scallions, and serve.

NOTES

     The ingredients are readily available  at  oriental  grocery
     stores.  Substitute soy sauce if you can't find nam pla. For
     fresh noodles, you can substitute several packages of  ramen
     noodles, discarding sauce powders.
     This basic recipe may be  varied  by  modifying  quantities.
     Vary  the chili paste to control hotness, and the nam pla to
     control saltiness (but the sauce will taste  saltier  before
     mixing with the noodles).
     This will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator.
     Serve with a good beer; it's too spicy for most wines.
     If you use this as the main dish of a meal, it  serves  only
     two.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time: 5  minutes  plus  waiting  for  the
     water to boil.  Precision: No need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Jeffrey Mogul
     Digital Equipment Corp., Western Research Lab, Palo Alto, California, USA
     mogul@decwrl.dec.com     decwrl!mogul