Shrimp and Noodles in Peanut Butter Sauce

Main Dish, Side Dish

This is a sweet, peanutty dish that is quick to prepare. Note that this is not "traditional" Thai peanut sauce. It is peanut butter sauce. It takes only about 2 Minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook. You get about 4 servings.

Ingredients/Shopping List
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 10 ounces dried Japanese udon noodles
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• ¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts (optional)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 20 uncooked large shrimp - peeled, deveined, tails left intact
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar

Directions

Mix peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, and black vinegar Reserve.

Boil a large pot of water. Once boiling, stir in the udon noodles and cook for 5 minutes.

Add frozen shrimp to boiling noodles and cook for 3 minutes.

When shrimp are pink and opaque, turn off heat, but leave pot on burner. Stir in broccoli florets and cover. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

Drain the broccoli, noodles and shrimp.

Place drained contents in serving bowl, add peanut sauce and toss to coat thoroughly.

Serve individual portions topped with chopped roasted peanuts.

Variations:

• You can skip the chopped peanuts, some people with dentures don't like 'em.
• If you can't find udon noodles, you can use angel-hair pasta or (my preference) small egg noodles.
• A larger amount of popcorn shrimp works well instead of the specified shrimp
• You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter for the sauce. I prefer natural peanut butter I buy from a local Mennonite community, but Jif or Skippy works just fine.

This makes a good side dish as well as an entrée. I have served this with a chicken breast or filet mignon. Another veggie, corn, peas, or green beans, makes a well-rounded meal.