Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles

Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles with air fried tofu and vegetables is a delicious and quick to make weeknight dinner recipe that is so delicious!

The inspiration for this Spicy Thai peanut noodles recipe is our absolute love for Thai food. We love eating out at Thai restaurants and one of our favorites to eat is noodles.

I have been making these Spicy Peanut Noodles for quite some time and it is one of our favorites to eat for dinner. I use the frozen Asian blend for vegetables and they are so convenient.

Tofu is an absolute favorite of ours and it is something I use every time. We could fry the tofu in the pan or use an Air fryer. I am a big fan of frying the tofu in the air fryer and it works great every time.

The sauce recipe for the Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles is so simple to make with just the basic ingredients. I love how quickly all this comes together and the best part is both my boys love it.

I am making easy dinner recipes this week for BM and this Thai Peanut Noodle is my second recipe under the theme. If you want to see what I made yesterday, check Quick and Easy Zucchini Pesto Pasta recipe. This is another recipe that is perfect for weeknight dinners.

If you love Thai food and looking to make a delicious Thai Red Curry, check out this recipe made with freshly made Thai Red Curry Paste.

Ingredient Needed

For the Noodles

• Noodles - I have used thin noodles, Brown rice, millet noodles, flat rice noodles, spaghetti, and linguine and they all work well for this recipe. Use any kind you have in hand. This time I have used Brown rice and millet noodles which have become a regular in our house

• Extra firm or firm tofu

• Onion - Use yellow or red onions

• Ginger and Garlic - Use a paste or finely chopped.

• Mixed vegetables - I have used frozen Asian blend vegetables today for the recipe. You can use that or chop up individual vegetables like bell peppers, snow peas, carrots, green beans, water chestnuts, and so on.

• Spring onions

• Crushed red pepper flakes or Chili sauce

• Salt

• Oil

• Sesame seeds for garnish - Optional

For the sauce

• Peanut butter - Use smooth peanut butter, chunky, or a combination of both. I have used just the smooth peanut butter today.

• Soy sauce

• Rice vinegar

• Thai sweet chili sauce

• Tamarind pulp - If tamarind paste is not available, we can use lime juice at the end for the flavor.

Step-by-step Process

• Cook the noodles or spaghetti according to the package instructions, drain, and keep aside.

• To make the sauce – Add all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Then, add a little hot water to bring it to a smooth consistency.

• I used an air fryer to fry my tofu. Preheat the air fryer to 400 F for 2 minutes and place the squeezed and cut tofu pieces. Spray some oil on top and let it air fry until golden brown. Keep tossing the air fryer basket once in a while for even cooking.

• Add oil to the skillet or wok and add the onion (1). Stir fry for a minute and then add the ginger and garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds.

• Add the crushed red pepper flakes (2) followed by the rest of the vegetables (3) and cook for a few minutes until the vegetables are crisp. Make sure that they don’t get too soft.

• Add the prepared sauce to the pan and mix well until the vegetables are well coated (4).

• Add the tofu (5)and the cooked pasta/noodles (6) and mix well. Garnish with spring onions and serve the Thai peanut noodles hot (7).

Expert Tips and FAQ's

• Make sure that the pasta or noodles are not overcooked. This makes the Thai Peanut Noodles recipe very mushy and tasteless.
• Any of the vegetables can be omitted or any other vegetables could be added to the recipe.
• Be very careful when adding salt to the recipe. Soy sauce has loads of salt and most of the time, just that would be enough.
• Tamarind pulp makes the sauce tangy. If it is not available, one could always add some lime juice in the end.