Asian noodles with peanut butter and garlic sauce

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 2 carrots
• 400 g udon noodles
• 1 bell pepper(s), red or yellow
• 4 tbsp, heaped peanut butter with chunks, vegan
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp chili sauce
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp honey, agave syrup or sugar
• 2 spring onions
• ½ lime(s)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil (it’s important that the pot is large because all the ingredients will be mixed together later). Peel the garlic, then grate, press, or finely chop it and mix it with the peanut butter, vinegar, oil, honey, soy and chili sauce, and water. Do not use a blender. If the sauce seems too thick at this stage, simply add a little more pasta water later. Wash the carrots and bell peppers, deseeding the latter. Cut everything into strips about five centimeters long and one centimeter wide. It’s even easier with a grater, but this will lose the crunch later. Wash the spring onions, cut them diagonally into strips, and set them aside for garnishing. Then cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Udon noodles only need three minutes, spaghetti eight to ten. When the pasta is done, drain it, reserving some of the cooking water. Then return the noodles to the pot with the peanut butter sauce and the vegetable strips and stir briefly. Don’t let it boil any further; just mix it just enough so that the sauce coats the noodles and absorbs some of the heat. If the peanut paste is still stubborn, thin it out with a little of the reserved pasta water if necessary. Then serve on a plate, garnish with spring onions and lime, and enjoy immediately—before the noodles have swallowed all the sauce.