This is such a good, easy Peanut Sauce for stir fries and noodles. Anything you make with it is so tasty! Use with stir fry ingredients of choice using my “formula” – chicken, beef, prawns/shrimp, tofu or vegetarian.
I’m a big fan of peanut sauces, so there’s a few to choose from here! If you’re after a Peanut Sauce for dipping, use the sauce in this Thai Chicken Satay recipe. For a peanut salad dressing, use this Asian Peanut Salad Dressing. If you want a creamy Sesame Peanut Sauce, use the sauce in this Sesame Peanut Noodles recipe.
Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries
This Peanut Sauce for stir fries is one of those gems that belies the short list of simple ingredients. It has depth of flavour and complexity that you find in restaurant peanut sauces yet is much more straight forward to make.
The satay and peanut sauce spectrum is broad – very broad – with variations all across the world, not just from Asia. In Australia, the most well known is probably Thai peanut sauce that are served with Thai satay skewers.
This one is not from any particular cuisine, though Australians will recognise it as similar to the Satay Peanut Sauce flavour served in Chinese restaurants, owing to the hint of curry flavour. It’s adapted from this Quick Satay Stir Fry, a gem of a recipe from a reader that I’ve made dozens of times since receiving it!
This is just a really great, simple Peanut Sauce that will make any stir fry or noodles really tasty!
The secret to really tasty Peanut Sauce
Contrary to popular believe, you do not need tons of peanut butter for a great peanut sauce for stir fries! In fact, a tasty peanut sauce comes down to the combination of other seasonings that makes this extra tasty:
Fish Sauce – more depth of flavour than soy sauce or salt. Don’t worry, once cooked it doesn’t taste fishy!
Soy sauce – I use dark soy for colour but light or all purpose is fine too.
Peanut butter – commercial sweetened spread or natural unsweetened is fine here
Curry powder – the secret ingredient in peanut satay sauces!
Garlic and ginger – fresh is best!
Cornflour/cornstarch – to thicken the sauce
Sugar – for a touch of extra sweet
Use this peanut sauce for stir fries – or use it to make this stir fried Peanut Sauce Noodles!
This is the curry powder I use – Clive of India which is widely available in Australia at supermarkets. Yes, this is an Indian curry. It doesn’t really matter what type of curry powder you use because it’s just a subtle background flavour. I promise!
How to use this Peanut Sauce
To make a stir fry, you will need:
1 batch of Peanut Sauce
200g/7oz of chicken or other protein
4 cups of vegetables
Here’s the written recipe for the Peanut Stir Fry, if you would like a step by step and also there is a recipe video.
To make a NOODLE stir fry, you will need:
DOUBLE batch of Peanut Sauce
The stir fry ingredients above
100g/4 oz dried noodles OR 180g/6 oz fresh noodles (your choice what type – egg, rice, thin, thick)
Here’s the written recipe for the Peanut Noodle Stir Fry, if you would like a step by step and recipe video – pictured below.
Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x
For Peanut and Satay Sauce Fans!
I’m a big fan of peanut sauces and satay. Choose the one you’re after!
Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce – use the sauce in this Thai Chicken Satay Skewers
Indo / Bali Peanut Sauce – use the sauce in this Bali Chicken Satay
Peanut Satay Curry Sauce – deep, complex flavours or a Malaysian satay sauce, see this Chicken Satay Curry. It’s basically Malaysian Satay chicken, in curry form rather than on skewers. ie loads and loads of satay sauce!!
Asian Peanut Dressing for Salads – use the dressing in this Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Peanut Salad Dressing or the Satay Peanut Dressing in this Satay Chicken Noodle Salad.
Creamy Sesame Peanut Sauce for noodles and noodle salads (warm and room temp) – use the sauce in this Sesame Peanut Noodles or this Noodle Salad with Creamy Sesame Peanut Dressing
Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Peanut Sauce for Stir Fries
Ingredients
Peanut Sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (Note 1)
- 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp curry powder (any type)
- 1 1/2 tbsp / 30 g crunchy peanut butter, regular (Note 1)
- 3 tbsp water
TO USE THE SAUCE:
Stir Fry
- 1 SINGLE batch Peanut Sauce (above)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 – 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced
- 180- 200g / 6 – 7 oz protein of choice, sliced
- 3 – 4 cups vegetables of choice, chopped / sliced as required and grouped by cooking time (Note 4)
Noodle Stir Fry – you will need
- DOUBLE batch Peanut Sauce (tap Servings & slide)
- Stir fry ingredients above
- 100g / 3.5 oz dried rice noodles OR 180g/6 oz fresh noodles of choice , prepared per packet
Garnish (optional):
- Finely chopped coriander / cilantro, crushed peanuts
Instructions
Peanut Sauce:
- Place all ingredients other than water in a bowl. Mix to combine. Then add water and mix again.
For STIR FRY:
- Heat oil in a skillet or wok over high heat. Add garlic and 1/2 sliced onion. Cook 1 minute.
- Add protein of choice or sliced tofu. Cook 2 minutes until just cooked.
- Add vegetables in order of time to cook, starting with the veggies that take the longer. Cook briefly until just cooked but still crisp.
- Add delicate veggies (eg bean sprouts, spinach and other leafy greens) and Sauce. Toss until Sauce thickens (add extra water if needed).
- Garnish with peanuts and coriander / cilantro, if using. Serve over rice – or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice!
For NOODLES:
- Follow Stir Fry directions. Add NOODLES with the Sauce in step 4.
- Toss for 1 – 2 minutes until Sauce thickens and coats noodles. Remove from heat, garnish and serve immediately!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Dozer’s golden retriever boarder continued to send me daily updates even when I was off the grid. This is the first one I saw when I returned to civilisation. He looks like he’s behaving……. he respects her a whole lot more than me!!
Love love love this! This quick satay sauce is one of my family’s favourites and we have it weekly.
There are 2 moments when you think it’s all gone terribly wrong:
1. when you first mix the ingredients without the water, it looks like it will never come together – but it does!
2. when you add the water. Everytime I think to myself “oh no, what have I done!” But again, it comes together beautifully
Thanks so much for this Nagi! It’s delicious 🙂
Can you add coconut cream or milk? is there any reason the recipe doesn’t call for it?
You could add it if you like Lauren, I find it doesn’t need it here though 🙂 N x
Absolutely love this recipe, I use it on tofu puffs with egg noodles, spring onions and bean sprouts and it’s so flavourful. However I find that it’s just a bit too thick and I’d love to make it go further – what’s the best way to dilute it without losing too much of the flavour? I don’t want to make it too watery if I add extra water.
Hi Rachel, I’m so glad you love it, I absolutely LOVE tofu and peanut sauce! Just add an extra tbls of water to thin out the sauce slightly if you prefer it runnier – N x
This recipe for satay sauce is an absolute winner! I make it up minus the fish sauce (just because I don’t keep this in the pantry and din’t have it the first time I went to make it). It’s easy and delicious. Thank you Nagi!
I’m so glad you love it!!! – N x
Love this! I use it for marinade and put it in my fried rice!
Yum, sounds great Breezy!
I added a squeeze of lime and some sesame oil and it was delish! Thanks for the great recipe!
Quick, simple and very tasty!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Kathy!
Thank you Nagi my family and I loved your satay sauce I did it with chicken thighes with out bones the first time. But I’m actually going to use chicken legs with the satay sauce this time and bake them in the oven we picked up the chicken legs cheap so I thought ok we got chicken and I love satay so that’s what we’re having for dinner.the only thing I would like to know should I double the recipe as we have a few legs and my sis and family might drop in . I’m the type of cook who never measures when cooking I just chuck a bit of this and that . But I don’t want to wreck this amazing flavour!!!
So Nagi would really appreciate your expertise on this .
Regards linda😊
Hi Linda, I’d double it just to be safe – N x
Hi Nagi, I love your recipes. I would really like it if you had links to save recipes directly to pinterest!
Hi Stephanie, I’ve just had some tech issues but it should be back up and running soon – N x
Hi Nagi, I absolutely love your recipes, so simply explained but all the relevant information is there. Wonderful flavours and prepping things like your wonderful sauces and putting them in the fridge for sometimes weeks makes it so easy to come up with a really impressive meal that takes just a few minutes !! Thank you so much!! Xx
You’re so welcome Amanda! Thanks so much for letting me know what you think!
Loved this sauce!!!! Thank you so much!
Great, thanks for the feedback Kazi ❤️
Hi, can you please tell me which dried rice noodles are the best in your opinion? And which brand? Thanks so much
Hi Ree, I use a few different types, you can really use any, just as long as you prep them as per the packet ☺️
This is the third recipe I have tried from your website and each one has been amazing! Thankyou so much.
My satay sauce was a little on the salty side even though I didn’t add any salt. Do you have any suggestions? Could it be the type of sauces I am using?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Laura! The salt is in the soy sauce / fish sauce. Did you use dark?? It’s less salty tasting that light soy. Feel free to cut back on the soy! N x
I have tried this several times. Mine turns out yellow and very Curry like. What Curry powder do you suggest?
Hi Nathan! I just use Clives or Keens 🙂
Hi there
Love the satay sauce with the chicken now wantvto do it with beef. What type of beef and should i tenderise it
Sorry I have never said thank you until now… THANK YOU!!! You are my “go to” whenever I have something that I’m not sure what to do with (or how to do), and again today you are bailing my butt out! Awesome sale on shrimp and asparagus this week, so I said I’d do a stir fry with peanut sauce. Back in the Boston area I could get a packet of peanut sauce powder that you mixed with coconut milk (didn’t do much homemade cooking then), but out here in Arizona I can’t find it. Tried 3 stores on the way home from work, nothing. Booting up the iPad I’m chanting “oh please Nagi, oh please Nagi, oh please Nagi” and sure enough, you have peanut sauce. That I have the ingredients for. That doesn’t have a million complicated steps for. Thank you!
Oh, by the way, Dozer looks so miserable to be boarded – NOT!! Lucky. Mine is like “Camp Moon Valley, yay! Mom who?”
Thanks again,
Kay
What a nice amazing photo! Looks like an incredible trip.
Recipe sounds delicious too.
Nagi, I commiserate with you about Swing Bridges. I will dodge them if it is humanly possible to do so. I grew up in Hamilton, Waikato, NZ and in those years the walking bridge over the Waikato River into town was adjacent to the Railway Bridge. Both bridges were separate in their own right. I hated being on the bridge when a steam train was crossing as one could feel the pavement of the walking bridge meeting you footstep. I think this is where my phobia comes from.
I am happy that you enjoyed your Hollyford trek.
I’m shuddering at the thought!!!! Though what an exotic life you’ve just painted in my mind. 🙂 It sounds so beautiful! N xx
Nagi I just in the past few years developed aan allergy to peanuts . How would almond butter work for this?
I think that will be GREAT! N xx
Yum yum yum. Great quick meal. Used already cooked rotisserie chicken, buckwheat noodles and added snap peas. Will add to rotation.
Is the peanut butter unsweetened ? Or the regular peanut butter used for sandwich?
Hi Kelsey! Just regular, good ole’ peanut butter for sandwiches 🙂 N x