Peanut Sriracha Stir Fry with Rice Noodles
Stir fries for me can be very hit and miss. I think the key thing to a good stir fry is big and bold flavours that enhance the ingredients. As an example, it is easy to overwhelm the ingredients with too much soy sauce or too much sesame oil. Something like pad thai works so well because it balances sweet, salty, umami and sour without compromising the main event, in this case the broccoli, carrot and prawns. This seems counterintuitive, lime, peanut and chilli certainly aren't mind flavours. I think its the fine balancing act that creates the fantastic flavour. A little Goldilocks, not too much, not too little and of each component of the sauce. This stir fry sauce is largely inspired by a recipe by Greens and Chocolate. If you are as big a fan of pad thai as I am, this should be right up your alley.
Serves 4
1 head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
3-4 large carrots, julienned
200g of cooked, peeled and sustainably sourced prawns (optional)
4-5 rice noodle nests or enough for four people
4 tbsp of dark soy sauce
4 tsp of Sriracha sauce
5 tbsp of peanut butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp of rice, white wine or apple cider vinegar
juice from 1/2-1 lime (adjust to taste)
1 tbsp of water
1 heaped tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of flavourless oil
about 2 tbsp of sesame seeds, toasted
This recipe can easily be made vegan by omitting the prawns. Likewise, chicken would pair very well too.
Preparation
- Place the cut vegetables in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the Sriracha, peanut butter, garlic, vinegar, lime juice, water, honey, oil and sauce.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients.
- Poor half of the dressing over the vegetables. Coat the vegetables thoroughly.
- Heat a large pan or wok to medium heat.
- Cook the vegetables until almost cooked through. It should take about 10 minutes. Basically you want the vegetables to keep their bite, but they should not be raw.
- Cook the rice noodles according to packet instructions.
- Add the prawns just to warm through.
- Serve the stir fry on top of the rice noodles.
- Garnish with a generous drizzle of the dressing, the toasted sesame seeds and a lime wedge.
- Enjoy!
