Tangy Peanut Sauce
My boys and I love eating this sauce over fish and chicken. It's also great on top of salads. Now that we're settled back in after a wild weekend that took us straight from Blogher into Yom Kippur, I will be making this to serve with our dinner tonight. I'll serve it over salmon and greens and I know that the boys will lap it up, as they always do.
½ cup peanut butter or creamy roasted almond butter
¼ cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons ume plum vinegar
2 teaspoons agave nectar
¼ cup water
¼ cup cilantro, minced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 teaspoons ginger, freshly minced or grated on a Microplane zester
1 teaspoon chili powder or diced jalapeno pepper
- In a quart jar
, combine nut butter, lime juice, fish sauce, sesame oil, umeboshi vinegar, agave and water
- Close jar and shake well
- Add cilantro, garlic, ginger and chili powder and shake again until ingredients are well combined
- Use as a dip for jicama and cucumber, or serve over salad or spring rolls
Although mine has turned out somewhat differently, this recipe is inspired by one I found in the May/June issue of Clean Eating; that recipe was the launching pad for me to come up with this cilantro infused addictive sauce.
Another big weekend lies ahead as I will be speaking at Boco on Friday and The Gluten Free Culinary Summit Saturday and Sunday. If you haven't already registered for the summit, go ahead and get in now, it's going to be a lot of fun!
Posted on September 29, 2009 in condiments by Elana
other entries you may like: BBQ Sauce
or Asian Salad Dressing
or Sesame Dip
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"Check out Elana's FAQ page for info on substitutions -- there are just too many possibilities so she can't answer all of these : ) But the Forums are an excellent resource and I highly recommend posting your substitution questions there; everyone is friendly and helpful." -Katie







Sounds great, Elana. I like to use peanut sauce with spring rolls and lettuce wraps! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
This looks so tasty! I can't wait to try it.
Mmm, fabulous sauce - I make a version of it with almond butter and serve it with EVERYTHING, haha :-D
Love Clean Eating Magazine!
Good luck with your upcoming weekend!!
YUMMY!!! I crave things like this and I can imagine it over some noodles with bean sprouts.
I make a version similar to yours but I use coconut vinegar for the sour instead of lime juice. Love it over thin rice noodles with chopped scallions for lunch. It was so nice to meet you at BlogHerFood. Have a safe trip this weekend.
I love my microplane - in fact I have two and they're always dirty. I use it for garlic all of the time - so much easier than using a garlic press. I've also started using glass jars and I love them - I use them for everything. The pint jars are perfect for storing leftover soup - I heat it up and eat it out of the jar for lunch.
Hi Elana: I just discovered your blog on the Tasty Kitchen site and I am enjoying it so much. I made your split pea soup tonight. It was so delicious! My husband was hesitant, but after I got him to taste it, he was hooked. I also made the walnut chocolate torte. I am thrilled to find so many great recipes on your site. I am trying to eat more vegetables and healthy foods and you have provided a great resource!
Thank you,
Laura in Georgia
Oh man, I love peanut sauce. Especially like you have here, with fish sauce! Addictive. I would love to have this with a grilled chicken (like a satay) or vietnamese shrimp spring rolls. Yum!
Hi Elana! I live in the wilds of Crimea, and keep kosher. Do you have some recipes you can post with regular simple ingredients that can be found anywhere? (i.e. no agave syrup, fish sauce, ume plum vinegar, etc.) I would really appreciate it! Thanks so much! Leah
What is ume plum vinegar? Can I substitute something more common? Rice wine vinegar? Red wine vinegar? Apple cider vinegar?
After just buying a huge bag of almond flour, I don't have the funds to buy strange ingredients that I likely won't use often.
Nice sauce! I've made a variation of this sauce for years to go over stir-fried veggies and chicken skewers. I substitute almond or sesame paste for the peanut butter.
Fish sauce freaks me out (isn't it filled with sugar)? DO you have a suggestion for a substitution or a brand you think is healthier?
for the fish sauce-fearing/hating (or for vegetarians), you can always use wheat-free tamari to taste (start with half the amount). these are both salt replacements -- you could leave out the fish sauce altogether and just add salt, but you would miss the umami element. Vegetarian "fish" sauce exists, but I have not tried it...(and it is probably not GF).
This looks good, Elana! I would try sunbutter (made from sunflower seeds)instead of peanut butter. I think it tastes a lot like peanut butter and it's healthier.
Elana,
Thanks once again, not only for the recipes reminding us what a cornucopia of delicious healthy foods are out there, but also for the links to other sites and books. Just read some of The Unhealthy Truth on Amazon and it looks really valuable. Thanks for letting us know about it.
Sarah
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I love peanut sauce. This recipe looks great, Elana!
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