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Craving something fast, cozy, and wildly satisfying? Meet your new weeknight noodle bowl. Chewy noodles get tossed in a creamy gingery peanut sauce, then topped with crispy sesame-seared halloumi, fresh herbs, and a big squeeze of lime. Twenty minutes, big flavor, minimal dishes—yes please.
Watch the How To Video Here:
Oh how I would kill for a bowl of these noodles right now. I may be in Korea, but with the businesses of everything we have been doing, we have not had any time to explore and find good authentic Korean food. So far we’ve eaten a lot of kimchi, beef bulgogi, and shrimp fried rice…for breakfast. It’s definitely been very interesting.
As I write this, it’s the morning before my brother, Red competes in finals, so approximately four fifty one am on Sunday morning here in PyeongChang. I am all messed up with what day it is and when I should be sleeping, but I am so thankful to be here with my family and watching my brother do something that is beyond incredible. I’m amazed by him, and no matter the results, I will forever be proud of Red for making it to the Olympics…and now the finals. The kid is only seventeen and has accomplished one of the biggest goals imaginable.
Pretty cool.
I plan on a quick update for you all tomorrow, but I’ll be doing a full recap of the trip when I return home later this week. Until then, I’m going to try to soak in all that we are experiencing here.
For now though, let’s talk noodles! It’s no secret around here that I love peanut butter and noodles. Most frequently my peanut butter is paired with sweets, and my noodles with cheese, but peanut noodles have always been a favorite of mine and it’s about time I shared a recipe with you guys.
This recipe is up there in my top favorites, and for two reasons.
One, it’s so easy.
Two, it’s so good…addictingly good.
This noodle recipe is all about the sauce.
It’s heavy on the peanut butter, and flavored with Thai curry paste, ginger, honey, and toasted sesame oil. Everything is mixed in the blender and then tossed with hot noodles and topped with fresh lime, basil, and cilantro.
To add an extra layer of texture and flavor I pan-fried some Halloumi cheese in soy and sesame oil. It’s kind of like crispy tofu…but better. I mean, it’s salty pan-fried Halloumi cheese atop peanut noodles.
I don’t know about you guys, but that sounds pretty awesome to me.
The major bonus to this recipe…just how quickly this dish comes together!
Twenty minutes and DONE. Yup, I sure am good with that.
Better Than Takeout 20 Minute Peanut Noodles with Sesame Halloumi
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rice noodles or long cut pasta
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari , (be sure to use low-sodium)
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon chili paste , (I use sambal oelek)
- 1 tablespoon Thai curry paste
- 2 inches fresh ginger, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
- juice from 1 lime
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 mango, sliced
- 1 cup shelled, edamame
Sesame Halloumi
- 8 ounces Halloumi cheese cubed
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain.2. Meanwhile, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, chili paste, curry paste, ginger, garlic, and 1/2 cup water. Pulse until combined and smooth. Pour the sauce over the hot noodles. Add the lime juice, basil, cilantro, carrots, bell peppers, mangos, and edamame. Toss to combine.3. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the Halloumi and cook until golden, about 5 minutes.4. Divide the noodles among bowls and top with Halloumi. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Trust me…these noodles need to be on your dinner table tonight.
Is the sesame oil you use to cook Halloumi different than oil used for peanut sauce?
Love your cookbook.
HI! I like to use regular, un-toasted sesame oil for the halloumi. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
I’m sitting on the couch typing this because it’s sooooo yummy I had to let y’all know!! I love the simple sauce and it’s well balanced. I made it with tofu instead of the cheese and it’s great!! Thanks!!
Perfect! I am so happy to hear that Jessica! Thank you!
Red or green Thai curry paste, or does it matter?
Thank you!
HI! I prefer to use red curry paste! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Made this with shrimp this weekend with some friends. Amazing and so flavorful!
Thank you Christin!
Just made this yummy recipe today and absolutely love it!!! Been looking at your instagram and blog for a long time but this is the first recipe I’ve tried and cannot wait to try many more! Ill definitely have to get your cookbook soon!
Thanks so much!
Hi Sage! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much! Also, totally hope you love the book if you get it!
Made this tonight and loved it! Even our two resident meat eating men flipped for it! Thanks for the recipe!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much Sam!!
I wanted to love this recipe because the pictures are so gorgeous… but the sauce was too salty! I even made sure to use low sodium soy sauce. I ended up throwing out the sauce and starting over using this recipe just for the peanut sauce: https://www.peanutbutterrunner.com/the-best-easy-homemade-pad-thai-recipe/
I would make this again, just continue to use the other sauce recipe.
Hi! I am so sorry you found the sauce too salty. I am glad you still enjoyed the rest of the dish. Thanks!
Tonight’s dinner and I am already planning on making it again ASAP. Passed on the cheese as I wasn’t able to find. Omitted honey as my husband isn’t able to process refined sugars. I often add some apricot jam (sweetened only with juice) when a sweet flavor is needed. But am out of it. Lastly I cut chili paste and curry paste by a third as I was afraid it would be too spicy for us. It has a gentle kick but I could tolerate a bit more heat.
Does tag my photo mean Twitter? I’ll give it a shot.
I am so full and so happy. <3
I am so glad you loved this Teresa! Thank you!!
Holy Moly, these noodles are amazing. I now want to add fried halloumi to EVERYTHING.
I’m single and wanted this recipe to last for several meals, so I made a couple adjustments to make sure it stayed fresh for a few days. I made the full amount of noodles and sauce, and fried the cheese exactly as directed, and saved in a big bowl in the fridge. To prepare, I sauteed a couple handfuls of frozen stir-fried veggies in a pan, then lowered the heat and added a big scoop of noodles and sauce and the cheese and heated until cooked through. It took about 5 minutes after the initial prep day and the flavors got even better over time. It was so fulfilling to come home to a hearty, satisfying, gourmet meal after a long day at work. I look forward to repeating with the mango, edamame, and other fun stuff! Thank you for an accessible, creative and adaptable recipe!
Sounds amazing Laney! I am so glad you loved this recipe, thank you!
This recipie definitely doesn’t take 20 minutites. It is quite a lot of chopping and also you have to fry the haloumi. I’m pretty quick in the kitchen and this took me about 50 minutes total cook time – the recipie looks great, the red peppers and the carrots are a nice splash of color. Taste wise it was ok. From the way the recipie reads you serve the sauce and vegetables cold on top of hot noodles so overall the dish is cold and tastes ok. I’d probably make it again but would stir fry the sauce into the veggies and noodles. I do like all the boldness of the flavour and how it’s a bit experimental.
Thank you so much Ayesha! I hope you enjoy some other recipes on my blog as well!
Going to be my saturday night comfort food this week!! Minus cilantro of course! I am one of those that tastes nothing but soap when eating that green stuff!
I hope you love this Billie! Thank you so much!
turned out great but you dont need to salt the water – soba is already salty
Thanks Stefanie! I am happy this turned out great for you! ?
I made this, but only used 2 tbsp of tamari in the sauce as I thought 1/2 cup was too much. I also left out the mango (but will try it next time). It came out great, thanks! I think it would also work really well with tofu instead of halloumi.
Thank you so much! I am so glad you liked this!
Curious what thai curry paste you used in this? I have red and green at home but not sure which would be the best with the peanut butter, leaning towards green. Or is there another that I am totally missing out on. So excited to try this recipe out this week.
Thanks!
I like to used Thai Kitchens Red Curry Paste. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! ?
Hey Tieghan! My mom and I made this last night and it was delicious! This my second recipe of yours this week (the first was the no guilt broccoli fettuccine from your book!) and it did not disappoint! While we didn’t have the cheese on hand, the flavors were intense and like you said, addicting! Definitely making again soon!
I am so glad you enjoyed this and the fettuccine! Thank you so much Susan!