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Peanut Butter Noodles (Ban Mian)

Author Qi Ai
Source seriouseats.com
Added by Josh
Yield 2 servings
Date added 1 Jun 2026

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter spread (1 1/4 ounces; 35 g), such as Skippy's
  • 1 teaspoon lard
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) garlic oil, see notes
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 4 ounces (113 g) fresh wide noodles, preferably thick, chewy wonton noodles such as Twin Marquis
  • 2 scallions (1 ounce; 30 g), white and green parts, thinly sliced cross-wise

Instructions

  1. Prepare the sauce

  2. Melt peanut butter and lard in a microwave-safe bowl (or over simmering water) until smooth, stirring as needed.

  3. Whisk in garlic oil, dark soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil.

  4. Cook the noodles

  5. Boil a medium pot of water. Cook noodles until just shy of al dente, about 5 minutes; they should be cooked through and pleasantly chewy.

  6. Reserve 1/4 cup noodle cooking water, then drain.

  7. Toss and serve

  8. Whisk 1 1/2 tablespoons noodle cooking water into the sauce (add more water 1 tablespoon at a time if the sauce is too thick).

  9. Immediately toss noodles and scallions with the sauce. Serve right away.

Notes

  • Garlic oil: Serious Eats recipe includes a separate garlic-oil prep; use store-bought or their linked method if you are not making it from scratch.
  • Original yield on source was listed as 1 serving; adjusted to 2 for a typical portion.