“How hard can it be?” I thought to myself. It was just peanut butter, vinegar, salt and sugar mixed with noodles. I closed my phone, set it aside and gathered the ingredients . The flavor profile of any liang mian typically would be described as nutty, savory, fragrance and tangy so went to grab tahini, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and salt and sugar.
I figured that “I was smart enough to figure the right proportions. After mixing the sauce, tossing the noodles, and carefully decorating it, I presented to my husband with a smile on my face almost as if saying “LOOK what I made, you’ll love this”. He looked surprised and eagerly took the bowl to taste. As I waited eagerly for his response, I also dug it. It only took a few moments for me to realize that…well..it wasn’t really that great. My husband still finished the bowl, to his credit, but I felt so embarrassed.
Despite my frustration, I REALLY wanted to eat liang mian. I have many fond memories of eating a rich peanut and sesame sauce with thick rice noodles, cucumber and chicken at Shanghainese restaurants. My dad even introduced me to almond butter mixed noodles which opened my eyes to the notion that nut butter and noodles were just an incredible pairing just like peanut butter on toast or peanut butter and banana! My husband decided that it would be “better if he tried to make it”. And oh my goodness, it was on point, amazing. I’m usually not a spicy kind of girl, but the addition of the chili crisp and also substituting peanut butter for the overly bitter tahini was magic! We even had this with cashew butter, which is also amazing!
I can’t imagine not having this recipe in 0ur repertoire. It has been a life saver for many, many lazy nights where cooking just did not seem appealing at all. I love that we have now modified this recipe for Shirataki noodles to make this a low carb treat that literally tastes like delicious Chinese takeout, and way better than any ramen noodles! To make sure, YOU don’t have to go through my rather embarrassing situation, we’re sharing our recipe for this simple, yet addictive noodles that has graced our dinner table many, many times. You can honestly use any type of noodles you ike, we’ve used konjac, tofu Shirataki, and even many varieties of thicker, thinner noodles – IT ALL WORKS!
I usually serve this with lots of green onions and cucumber the side! Sometimes even additional veggies and boiled to make this extra nutrient-rich meal!
- Serves 2
- 2 packs of tofu shiritaki noodles (8oz net weight each, spaghetti style, house foods brand)
- 4 tbsp slightly salted peanut butter, 60g (or cashew butter)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar / Chinese black vinegar vinegar
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce (if its normal soy sauce just use 1 tbsp)
- 1 heaping tbsp lao gan ma (get mainly chili crisp) or your favorite chili crisp
- Garnish: 1 scallion, finely chopped, cucumber, sesame seeds/peanuts (optional)
- Prepare the noodles by removing from the packet and draining.
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in yam noodles to heat up briefly for 2-3 mins. Run under cold water to cool, drain well and squeeze as much as water as you can out using your hands. (Very important to squeeze dry)
- In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients for the seasonings. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning - should be very balanced of sour, salty and peanut butter with a kick of chili.
- Add in drained noodles and mix.
- Divide into bowls. Garnish with scallions (and cucumber, more nuts if you like).
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