An Okie Girl’s Take on Homemade Spicy Peanut Sauce
True confessions: My refrigerator is a messy, messy beast. I have 9 types of mustard ((that is a whole other story)), at least 7 jars of pickles ((spicy pickles are my fave!!)), ketchup, mayo, several salsas, sriracha, wing sauce, olives, pasta sauce, some random leftovers, cookie dough, jams, soy sauce, eggs, cream, milk — well, you get the picture. I cringe at the thought of sharing an unfiltered photo. But, I simply opened the doors, resisted the urge to repair the mess & told the fridge to smile and say “cheese” — haha, cheese!! Prepare to be “fridge flashed” ((eek))!!
See!! I told you it’s bad. Just look at the baggie hanging out of my cheese drawer! And over there on the middle-left?? 6 more blocks of cheese that won’t fit into the cheese drawer because it is full of sausage & canned biscuits – oh, and more cheese. I think my fridge thinks he ate too much. ho hum.
What does this information have to do with peanut sauce??!! Well, mostly nothing. Except that as I walked the aisles of the grocery store a few days ago, I drew a line in the sand. I WILL NOT purchase one more condiment. Instead of trying to wedge a jar of store-bought peanut sauce into my over-stuffed fridge shelves, I decided to try to copy it by using whatever I already had one hand — which, as you can see, is A LOT.
I did grab ahold of that store-bought peanut sauce, but just to steal a glimpse at the list of ingredients. Could I possibly re-create this without buying one.more.thing. ?? As I sped through the list on the label, I became pretty confident that I ((or at least my fridge)) had what it takes.
Here is what I gathered from my fridge & pantry in under 5 minutes:
- natural peanut butter
- apricot preserves
- spicy mustard
- tamari
- fresh ginger (grated)
- sweet chili sauce
- sea salt
- canola oil
I added, stirred, stirred, tasted and added a few more dashes – stirred & tasted until I got it just how I wanted it. Sweet, spicy, salty – a little heat from that hot mustard and fresh ginger & of course peanuty-perfection! The natural peanut butter by far the way to go for this recipe ((you know the type…you have to stir to combine the oil & the peanut butter and there is one item on the list of ingredients and its PEANUTS)).
I used this sauce to replace pizza sauce and created the most delicious Spicy Thai Chicken Pizza. ((so, so good– recipe coming soon))
But really, pizza is only one of many ways to use this sauce! How about stir-fried veggies tossed in peanut sauce? Or Spicy Peanut Sauce Coated Wings?? Or Thai Spicy Steak Tacos with peanut sauce?? YUM. Endless possibilities.
After making pizzas, I had enough to pour into a jar and store for a later use. Yes, back to the over-stuffed fridge it went ((see — the struggle is real)) – but trust me, this jar of liquid culinary gold will not be taking up space for long! Tacos here we come!
- 1 c natural peanut butter
- 2 T apricot preserves
- 1 1/2 t spicy mustard
- 3 T tamari
- 1 T fresh ginger (grated)
- 3 T sweet chili sauce
- sea salt, to taste
- 1-3 T canola oil, to desired thickness
- Combine all ingredients into a small mixing bowl. Season with salt to taste, add extra amounts of any of the above ingredients to taste. Stir until completely mixed and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Use as a glaze, marinade, pizza sauce substitute or dipping sauce.