Noodles with Peanut Sauce

12 oz lo mein noodles (or 8 oz thin spaghetti)
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp mirin (rice wine) or dry sherry
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp chili oil
1/2 small garlic clove
1/3 cup sliced scallions

1. Cook the noodles according to package directions.  Drain and rinse under cold water until cool.
2. While the noodles are cooking, place the peanut butter, soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, sugar, chili oil, and garlic in a blender or food processor.  Cover and process until thoroughly combined.
3.  Toss noodles with peanut sauce and scallions.

Variation: Toss 1 cup blanched bean sprouts or julienned cucumber with the noodles and sauce.

Note:  Although you can make this dish ahead, the noodles soak up the sauce and you may want to stir in some water before serving.  Or just make the noodles and store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, prepare the sauce, then combine them and add the scallions just before serving.

Source: 100 Best Vegetarian Recipes, by Carol Gelles

Try #1 - February 2013
I thought this was pretty good.  I made a few changes - I used rice vinegar instead of rice wine by accident, and used a few drops of hot sauce instead of chili oil.  I also totally missed the direction about cooling the spaghetti, so I served ours hot.  I used whole wheat spaghetti because Trader Joe's didn't have any lo mein that I could see. :)  The hot sauce gave it just enough kick - the perfect amount, I thought, but the kids declared it to be too spicy and wouldn't eat it.  But Nathan and I enjoyed it, and it made good leftovers.  I think this would have been excellent with the addition of chopped peanuts on top... but I didn't have any peanuts to add.