Experimental Peanut Sauce

So, I like Pad Thai, but I know restaurants usually use fish sauce - which, a) yuck, and b) not vegetarian. Also, there's often a weird flavor kind of lurking in the background of Pad Thai that I can't identify but don't really like.

So, I said, hey, I can make a thing that's kind of like Pad Thai only without the stuff I don't really like, and well, it probably won't be all that much like Pad Thai, but I'll like it.



Here's the ingredient list:
Crunchy peanut butter
Coconut milk
2 limes
half-and-half or milk
1 small red pepper, diced
fresh spinach
2 eggs
sugar
cayenne pepper

So, for the sauce, I mixed up some crunchy peanut butter, coconut milk (I used reduced-fat for both of those), and the juice of 2 limes in a small saucepan, & started heating it. I wanted to make it creamier without more coconut flavor, so I added some fat-free half & half. Then I thought it should be sweeter, so I added a bit of sugar, & finished it off with some cayenne pepper (spice of the gods!).

I'm not so great at telling you exactly what the proportions were, since I just put stuff in the pan and adjust as seems necessary. But what I ended up with was probably about a cup of sauce, and it was a rather thick, creamy texture.

At the same time I was boiling water for the noodles, I started sauteing a diced red pepper in a small skillet. When the pepper was almost cooked, I scrambled in 2 eggs with it.

I used rice noodles, which don't take long to cook (3 or 4 minutes) and when they were almost cooked, I added some fresh spinach I had left over.

Drained the noodles, and mixed it all up. It was good! Not all that much like Pad Thai, but hey, I wasn't trying to make Pad Thai, I just wanted some peanut sauce. I really like the nutty-sweet-tangy combo. And it was great warmed up for breakfast this morning!