These Thai Peanut Butter Noodles topped with fried ground beef come together in 15 minutes and are one of my favourite quick and easy meals to make. I hope you love them!
Hey! For those of you who are new here, I'm Emily Roz - food content creator, recipe developer, and cookbook author behind Myriad Recipes.
If you follow me on Instagram or TikTok, you'll know I love sharing a noodle recipe like my curry noodles, chili crab noodles, or my chicken paprikash noodles. You guys absolutely love them!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy: we're using pantry staples for this recipe, no far-out ingredients!
- Customisable: I'm using ground beef and cilantro as the topping, but you can go for ground extra firm tofu, jammy egg, or pak choi! Literally anything you fancy, you can add it as a topping for this recipe!
- Full of flavor: this thai peanut butter noodles dish is a flavor-bomb. It's slightly spicy, creamy, honestly it's pretty addictive!!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Peanut butter: I love using crunchy peanut butter but feel free to use smooth.
Thai curry paste: I like using an authentic red thai curry paste for this recipe, whether you're making it from scratch or getting a storebought version. Mae Ploy brand is my favourite!
Sugar: this is to just balance out the savouriness of the dish. Feel free to use honey or maple syrup if you fancy.
Light soy sauce: for saltiness and depth of flavour, we're adding this straight into the bowl as our sauce. If you've only got dark soy sauce, you can use that.
Rice wine vinegar: for acidity! A fine swap would be mirin.
Sesame oil: adds nuttiness and acts as a binder.
Ground beef: this goes really well as a protein source for these thai peanut butter noodles. If you've got some leftover, why not make my egg noodles with ground beef? Other protein options are ground chicken, ground pork, or ground extra firm tofu!
Garlic: fresh garlic is best, even though we're not cooking it! You can alternatively use ¼ teaspoon garlic granules per portion.
Noodles: I've used fresh ramen noodles, but feel free to use whatever noodles you fancy, whether that's instant ramen noodles, rice noodles, or soba noodles. Just make sure to cook them to packet instructions.
Cilantro/coriander: we're adding minimal toppings to this dish (I've provided some more topping ideas below), but cilantro or coriander is a great ingredient to add freshness! If you don't like cilantro, feel free to swap it out with edamame beans.
The full list of ingredients and measurements is at the bottom of this blog, just scroll down to find the recipe card!
More Thai Peanut Butter Noodle Topping Options
- Frozen edamame beans: defrost in microwave and garnish on top of the noodles.
- Pak choi: boil with the noodles and slice into pieces.
- Jammy egg: boil eggs for 6 minutes.
- Toasted peanuts: for an extra pop of nuttiness.
- Beansprouts
- Tenderstem broccoli: steam or boil until tender.
- Scallions / spring onion
Or for a list of over 19 options, check out my post dedicated to ramen toppings!
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: Place a skillet on medium heat and drizzle with ½ tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add in the ground beef and break apart using a wooden spoon. Fry for 5 minutes, then add in the sliced garlic and soy sauce. Stir to combine and fry for a further 5-10 minutes until the beef has browned and is cooked through.
Step 2: Meanwhile, get your two bowls and add the following to each bowl: 2 teaspoons peanut butter, 1 teaspoon red thai curry paste (double this amount if your curry paste isn't that spicy), ¼ teaspoon sugar, ½ tablespoon light soy sauce, ½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar, and ½ tablespoon sesame oil. Mix thoroughly until a saucy paste forms in each bowl.
Step 3: Cook your noodles to packet instructions. Then drain, ready to serve.
Step 4: Once your beef and noodles are ready, add 1 tablespoon of noodle water to each bowl and stir to combine and loosen the paste. Next up, divide the noodles between the two bowls. Top each bowl with the fried ground beef and finely chopped cilantro/coriander.
Step 5: Combine thoroughly until the noodles, beef, and cilantro/coriander are coated in the sauce. Enjoy!
MY TOP TIPS!
- Don't stir the fried beef too frequently. You want the base of the beef to brown as this develops the flavour of the ground beef.
- Adjust the thai curry paste amount depending on its strength. Depending on what brand your thai curry paste is, it can be more or less aromatic. This recipe has been created based on me using the Mae Ploy red thai curry paste which is quite strong. You may need to use more than 1 teaspoon if you're using a supermarket branded thai curry paste.
- Save some noodle water just in case you want to further loosen your noodles once combined.
FAQs
For sure! Ensure the thai curry paste is vegan. Use ground extra firm tofu instead of ground beef.
Place any leftovers in airtight containers and into the fridge for up to 3 days.
If you've stored them in containers, simply add a splash of milk or water into the tupperware, leave the lid ajar and microwave for a couple of minutes until piping hot.
I love serving them with a side of steamed vegetables, dumplings, or a smashed cucumber salad.
If you tried this Thai Peanut Butter Noodles or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
Thai Peanut Butter Noodles
Ingredients
For the beef
- 250 g ground beef
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
For the sauce (per bowl)
- 2 teaspoon peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon red thai curry paste use more or less depending on the spice strength of your curry paste
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
Noodles and Toppings
- 2 portions of ramen noodles cooked to packet instructions
- 5 g cilantro finely chopped
Instructions
- Place a skillet or frying pan on medium heat and drizzle with ½ tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add in the ground beef and break apart using a wooden spoon. Fry for 5 minutes, then add in the sliced garlic and soy sauce. Stir to combine and fry for a further 5-10 minutes until the beef has browned and is cooked through.
- Meanwhile, get your two bowls and add the following to each bowl: 2 teaspoons peanut butter, 1 teaspoon red thai curry paste (double this amount if your curry paste isn't that spicy), ¼ teaspoon sugar, ½ tablespoon light soy sauce, ½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar, and ½ tablespoon sesame oil. Mix thoroughly until a saucy paste forms in each bowl.
- Cook your noodles to packet instructions. Then drain, ready to serve (make sure to keep some of that noodle water!!).
- Once your beef and noodles are ready, add 1 tablespoon of noodle water to each bowl and stir to combine and loosen the paste. Next up, divide the noodles between the two bowls. Top each bowl with the fried ground beef and finely chopped cilantro/coriander.
- Combine thoroughly until the noodles, beef, and cilantro/coriander are coated in the sauce. Enjoy!
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