Peanut butter paired with apple slices has become a popular diet-friendly snack, but the spread works just as well stirred into spicy bibimmyeon. It tempers the heat with a rich, creamy texture and a nutty depth that keeps you coming back for more.
The recipe here is a peanut butter chili bibimmyeon — sweet, spicy and satisfyingly nutty. You can dial the heat up or down by adding cheongyang chili peppers, scallions or Vietnamese chilies to taste.
The sauce starts with peanut butter, gochugaru and minced garlic. Hot oil is poured over the mixture to bloom the aromatics, then chewy dao xiao mian noodles are tossed through until evenly coated.
Adding a splash of noodle cooking water as you toss helps loosen the sauce and gives the finished dish a silkier, more savory finish. A handful of cheongyang peppers or scallions lets you fine-tune the spice level.
The recipe calls for dao xiao mian, a Chinese-style knife-cut noodle made by shaving strips directly from a block of dough. The strands are shorter than typical noodles and have a pleasantly chewy bite.
The star ingredient, peanut butter, is a high-protein food — 100 grams contains roughly 22 to 25 grams of protein. It is also rich in unsaturated fats, including oleic acid, the same beneficial fatty acid found in olive oil.
Two bowls of peanut butter chili bibimmyeon come together in just 15 minutes. It makes for a simple yet impressive dish to try this weekend.
Ingredients
Dao xiao mian (or mafaldine pasta), 160–200g; crunchy peanut butter, 2 tablespoons; gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes), 1 tablespoon; peeled garlic (minced), 2 cloves (½ tablespoon); green onion, ½ stalk; sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon; soy sauce, 1 tablespoon; vinegar, 1 tablespoon; allulose, 1 tablespoon; cooking oil, 5 tablespoons
Directions
[Peanut butter chili bibimmyeon]
1. Mince the garlic and slice the green onion into thin rounds.
2. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, then drain in a colander, reserving some of the cooking water.
3. In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter, gochugaru, minced garlic, scallions, green onion, sesame seeds, soy sauce, vinegar and allulose to make the sauce.
4. Pour the cooking oil into a pan and heat over low heat until hot.
5. Pour the hot oil over the sauce to fully draw out the aroma of the gochugaru and garlic, then mix well.
6. Add the cooked noodles and ½ to 1 ladle of noodle cooking water, then toss until the sauce coats the noodles evenly. Serve immediately.
Source: Woori's Table
gorgeous@heraldcorp.com
