My failed dinner

[thistlechaser]

So sad! Last week I went to Thai food for the first time, and while I didn't hate it, I didn't like most of it... except one thing. The peanut sauce was amazingly yummy. Like crunchy peanut butter, just a little sweeter and a tiny tiny bit spicy. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so when in the supermarket, I grabbed a bottle. (I hadn't gone into this blind, I checked Amazon reviews first to find the best rated one.)

Today I bought some chicken so I could use it. Two things jump out at me:
1) It doesn't taste like peanuts at all. The heck? The sauce in the restaurant tasted just like peanut butter, only better.
2) It's way too spicy. It's not just spicy, it's tricky. When I first take a bite it seems fine, then a moment later my mouth is on fire.

As much as I hate wasting food, I find I have to throw mine out yet again. It's a wonder I even try cooking anymore!

That Thai restaurant wasn't too close to me, but I might have to go back just for the yummy sauce. :/

Comments

[loup_noir]

You can probably add more peanut butter and a little soy to calm the fire down. I love it spicy, but then I love all things hot and spicy. Well, just about.

Did you try Pad Thai? The combination of the warm peanut sauce and the cool, crunchy bean sprouts are FTW.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's a good idea. I don't like spicy at all (so I was surprised I was okay with the company trip last week -- nothing I tried was spicy).

No! But that sounds great.

[isyris.livejournal.com]

I thiiiink I know what kind you tried, and yes, it's spicy! If you have some red chili sauce (the sweet sticky kind) you can sort of combine the two and it's still spicy but really really good over veggies and white rice. The delayed burn seems to be really common with Thai food from what I've had? I actually like it, but I'm not a huge fan of other spicy stuff, so.

This is probably closer to what you're looking for, though I haven't tried this particular one: http://www.thaikitchen.com/Products/Sauces-and-Pastes/Peanut-Satay-Sauce.aspx

They also have a really nice Peanut Pad Thai in a box that comes with sauce and crunchy peanut bits, tho you have to be careful to make sure it's the peanut kind you get, the box for the regular stuff is almost identical.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ha! That's just what I bought. It was the best reviewed sauce of them all.

Mm, the Peanut Pad Thai sounds good.

[isyris.livejournal.com]

Really? No idea, then! I'd have thought it would be alright too. (Stay away from whatever the brand is with a red bird on the bottle, in any case -- it, too, is very strong and spicy, so I don't think you'd like it.)

The Peanut Pad Thai is really really good, and definitely mild! That used to be the 'fancy' dinner Jon and I would make every couple weeks -- pad thai with chicken and scrambled egg, caesar salad from a bag, and garlic bread. :)

a search for mild thai peanut sauce brings this up -- at least the ingredients look fairly simple? Comments have some good suggestions for improvements, too. http://vegetarian.about.com/od/thaifoodrecipes/r/thaisauce.htm

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I was thinking of trying to make my own. *checks out link*

[gconnor.livejournal.com]

Good on you for trying stuff. Some of my favorite thai dishes: green curry chicken (usually mild, ask for mild the first time, then ask for medium next time if it was too mild before).
chicken coconut milk soup (same, start with mild)
beef with thai basil, or beef with bamboo shoots (usually this will not be spicy at all)
"fresh rolls" - kind of like egg rolls but not fried, containing lettuce, rice noodles, and some meat (I ask for peanut sauce instead of the whatever sauce it comes with)
chicken satay (basically chicken on skewers with loads of peanut sauce
sticky rice with mango for dessert

[gconnor.livejournal.com]

Also there is a spice package at Safeway in the ethnic aisle which makes a pretty good chicken coconut milk soup. You supply chicken breast and water.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Chicken satay was what I had. I think there was a beef version as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I don't think there's any such thing as "too mild" when it comes to me. :P

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Goodness that peanut sauce sounds like my personal hell.

...I'm allergic to peanuts though so yeah..

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Haha, well none for you then! :)

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Yup, more for you haha :)

I just can't wrap my head around spicy peanut sauce...peanuts are incredibly painful for me already. A couple months ago I had the worst attack of my life and it's still fresh in my mind bleh.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Eeek I can imagine! Adding spicy to something that already is painful for you? No thanks!

[joisbishmyoga.livejournal.com]

We also had a bottle of "way too hot oh my god ow" Thai peanut sauce, and I'd make it work by mixing a little bit with a couple large spoonfuls of peanut butter, a dash of soy sauce, and just a little warm water to thin it out. It looked pretty dubious until the mess came together into a sauce. Don't know how it would work being cooked in a pan, I always just mixed it in a bowl and added cooked noodles.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I still have half my chicken left and lots of the sauce, so I think I'll try to tame it down that way.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

As someone who also adores Thai peanut sauce--the stuff you can buy at the store seems to vary wildly, and many of them don't taste anything like what I prefer. I can't remember the brand I like anymore. :/

This thread seems to suggest they all suck and you should make homemade.

This recipe looks pretty easy.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Wow, that recipe looks both good and easy! I think I'll make it tonight, but add just a little of the bottled stuff. The first peanut sauce I had had a tiny bit of heat, but not nearly enough to bother me, it just made it more interesting.

[teslanomaly]

I'm a fan of Thai food, but I don't like spicy food so I stick to just a few dishes. (My standard and favorite: Pad See Yew, sometimes spelled Pad See Eew, which is basically pan-fried noodles with egg and vegetables and tofu or a meat of your choice. It's in a sweet sauce and you can order it with no spicy-hot-stuff added.)

However, my experience has been that Thai food varies drastically from restaurant to restaurant. Some places I don't even like their Pad See Yew. I've had the same experience with Pad Thai; some places make their peanut sauce ridiculously spicy, and other places it's not peanutty at all, and then sometimes it is delicious and sweet and creamy and peanutty! The same with storebought brands of Thai sauces; they differ tremendously!

So yeah, maybe switching brands will help you find a peanut sauce more like the one you had at the restaurant. And if you ever go back and want to try something else, Pad See Yew is safe for the non-spicy-eater. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice! That's an easy name to remember too, especially the Eew version.

Tonight I'm going to try to doctor the bottled sauce, add real peanut butter and soy sauce and see if I can make it work.

[evilgrayson.livejournal.com]

Thai food does vary hugely from place to place - it's both annoying and awesome that way.

You might like the starter-type things, if you try them. Thai fishcakes are gorgeous, and you add your own heat by how much sweet chilli sauce you put on 'em.

Gconnor is wise, though - Thai Green Curry is food of the gods (but not hot, never ever ask for hot Thai food).

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Even the most mild food at someplace like Taco Bell is too spicy for me, so I'd never ever ask for hot!

And agreed, the starter items seemed a good match for me. There were a few I'd like to try.