Peanut doubanjiang edamame noodles
Peanut doubanjiang edamame noodles
This month’s new recipe is a pantry meal that delivers big on flavour and comfort. It is designed around that bag of edamame beans which I always seem to have in my freezer. I wanted to create a edamame dish that is not a salad, that shows all the delicious sides of these frozen young soybeans. Edamame are buttery, with a hint of sweetness and nuttiness, so pairing them with creamy peanut butter brings out all these qualities even more.
Doubanjiang is an ingredient that you may not have in your pantry and if this is the case, it is time to change that. Made of fermented soy beans, it is a spicy sauce with funky flavours that is just as versatile as gochujang. You can find it at your local Asian grocery store. Pixian doubanjiang has the best flavour - US readers can get it here, Australians here and elsewhere google ‘pixian doubanjiang’ to find local stockists. Lee Kum Kee also has one which they label chili bean sauce. If you can’t get it, just use chilli oil/crisp, Gochujang or any spicy condiment.
I use rice noodles but any noodles work here!
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 300g thick rice noodles
- 1 packet (340g / 12 ounces) podded edamame beans
- large handful coriander/cilantro, plus more to serve
- handful of peanuts, roughly chopped
Peanut doubanjiang sauce
- 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, stirred
- 2-3 tablespoons doubianjiang or chill oil/crisp
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- ½ - 3/4 cup hot water (just boiled or tap), cooled for 2-3 mins
Place all of the sauce ingredients into a medium bowl, starting off with ½ cup of hot water, and whisk to combine well. It should be creamy but runny enough to coat noodles. If it is too thick, add more water, a little at a time, until it is the consistency of pouring cream. Transfer the sauce to a large bowl (large enough to toss the noodles).
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, and add the edamame beans. Boil for 2-3 minutes until just tender and remove the beans with a slotted spoon or ladle and place in a colander to drain. Remove the edamame beans to a bowl and set aside.
Bring the same pot of salted water (top it up if you need to) to the boil again. Add the noodles and cook for 5-7 minutes until the noodles are al dente.
Meanwhile, when the edamame beans are cool enough to handle, pour half of them onto a chopping board and coarsely chop. Add the coriander/cilantro onto the same board and coarsely chop that as well. Combine the edamame and coriander on the board and chop together until it looks like a coarse paste (you could also use a food processor to do this but I like to minimize washing up!). Place the chopped edamame and coriander into the bowl with the remaining whole edamame pods and set aside.
When the noodles are ready, use tongs to transfer them to the bowl with the peanut sauce, dragging over a bit of the starchy cooking water that will be dripping off the noodles. Add the edamame beans and toss everything together until the noodles are well coated.
Top with more coriander and the peanuts. Eat immediately as it will get gluggy if you let it sit.
