Victory Dance: Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce!

As you may know, I have been waiting to perfect my Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce recipe until the day I have actual, fresh Thai basil in-hand; regular Italian just wouldn’t do.  Over the course of one month, my quest has taken me to two grocery stores, one co-op, one Whole Foods, two plant nurseries and two Asian marts, all to no avail.  It wasn’t until today that my epic search finally came to an end.

I was rushing home after two teas and an afternoon of errands, when I drove past a tiny Chinese-Korean market that I hadn’t been to in years.  Eager as I was to get home, something about the dingy and dank little place said THAI BASIL SOLD HERE.  I didn’t get my hopes up however - at least not until I was greeted at the door by that cohort of all authentic Asian markets: the wafting, pungent odor of dead sea-life.  Bypassing several isles of brightly colored packaged goods, I headed straight for the produce.  It was there, tucked away in a secret little corner next to some Dali-esque mushrooms and quail eggs, that I finally found a tiny but beautiful bouquet of the coveted leaf.  Conquest was mine!

The short of this story is that I am now able to bring you my recipe for delicious, authentic, chunky Thai peanut sauce!  My favorite thing about this recipe, aside from its captivating flavor, is that it only takes a few minutes to create (not counting the month of ingredient hunting of course).  Plus after having eaten multiple spoonfuls of the stuff, I now believe that even if you don’t use actual raw peanut butter, or have to resort to using regular basil, the recipe should still taste quite fantastic!  I now plan to use it on everything from PB&J sandwiches to salads, to ice cream and crackers.  And in case you were wondering, I will be growing my own Thai basil plant on the living room windowsill.    

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

¼ c raw peanut butter

¼ c raw almond, cashew, or hemp seed butter

2-3 Thai red peppers, de-seeded

4-5 large Thai basil leaves, no stem

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp nama shoyu sauce or Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids

1 Tbsp honey

2 medium sized garlic cloves, mashed

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor to blend.  You may need to stir sauce and process again in order to break down any large pepper or basil chunks, and to ensure that all ingredients are well combined

2. Serve immediately or store sauce in fridge for up to one week