5-min Spicy Peanut Butter Miso Nooodles

Your new favourite quick plant based 5-minute noodle dish is creamy, spicy, savoury and most importantly, zero waste!

When my Chili Peanut Noodle recipe went viral on Instagram, I was shocked! Not because it didn’t taste good but more so because it was a really simple dish that uses mostly pantry staples. It made me realise that we are always finding ways to simplify what we eat because firstly:

1. We are always pressed for time.

Where it’s going to work everyday or managing your workload with family commitments or simply because we fall prey to the hustle culture that we tend to ignore what our body needs to function and give us an optimal amount of energy.

2. More ingredients = more expensive!

Okay, I’m definitely someone who spends on groceries because well…I do lots of recipe testing! But if a meal can be made with staple ingredients and I don’t have to go out of the way to get an important ingredients that the dish just won’t taste good without, I’m happy.

For this recipe, feel free to add on any vegetables or protein for a more balanced meal and for it to be extra filling. I find that having plain ramen noodles in your pantry really helps when you find yourself too tired to cook. I also make sure the ramen noodles don’t contain any preservatives and are made with wheat flour, water, salt only.

3. We want to be zero waste and sustainable, with low effort

I love zero waste recipes but many of them require more effort than the actual recipe (but if you have time, you should definitely invest that time!). However, there are lots of them that actually require minimal effort – like this mind blowing peanut butter sauce hack I saw on socials.

How is this recipe “zero waste”?

• I use a lot of peanut butter in my smoothies so I’m always left with peanut butter scraps at the end of the jar which I refused to put my hand in and dig out – it’s just not worth it. Instead of that, try add some hot water into the jar and your favourite spices + seasonings to make an amazing luscious peanut butter sauce in no time
• I used the starchy noodle water that we boil the noodles in to 1) blanch my greens & veggies 2) add to my peanut sauce. It actually gets used up!
• It’s also a fun way to use up condiments that are almost finishing – like my chili oil in this recipe. Or you could simply just use what you have at home without buying any new ingredients
  • That also means your pantry has to be stocked – mine always has soy sauce, chili oil, miso and gochujang. But in the worst case your pantry is empty (like how many of you have mentioned in the comments section) – you can always mix in the seasoning packet that comes with the ramen!

Pantry Staples You Need

This recipe is really pantry friendly. If you cook Asian recipes often, you must have these ingredients already. Here are some staples I use for many dishes:

• Soy Sauce
• Vegetarian Mushroom Sauce (Substitute for Oyster Sauce)
• Miso Paste
• Rice Wine Vinegar / Mirin / White Vinegar
• Toasted Sesame Oil
• Toasted Sesame Seeds
• Spring Onions
• Chili Oil