Don’t you just love how I post a pasta recipe immediately after the blog post where I say I’m trying to break my addiction to pasta? 😂 We’re all human. Anyway, This week I threw a spin on my classic Dragon Noodle recipe by adding ground pork and chopped peanuts, using a chunky chili garlic sauce in place of the sriracha, and using some good ramen noodles that I got at the international market. This recipe is ridiculously easy and soooo rich and delicious. Sweet, salty, sticky, crunchy, and all the noooooodles! These Pork and Peanut Dragon Noodles are like comfort food x 100. You’ll never go back to take out. Ever.
What Kind of Noodles Can I Use?
You can use just about any type of noodle for this recipe, but I suggest something kind of light like a ramen or egg noodle as opposed to a traditional spaghetti. The noodles I used came in a huge package, but I used about the equivalent to two standard 3oz. ramen packages. My noodles were quite a bit more expensive than grocery store ramen, so you can probably make this for even less! Woo!
What to Serve with Pork and Peanut Dragon Noodles
And because this dish is so sweet, rich, and indulgent, I highly suggest serving it with something green. I grabbed a bag of baby bok choy while I was at the international market and just sautéed them up briefly until wilted. You could even add some vegetables to the noodles, if you want. Broccoli florets or even some fresh spinach would be awesome. Shredded napa cabbage would be amazing, too. Or serve some Sesame Kale on the side!
Pork and Peanut Dragon Noodles
Servings 3Ingredients
Dragon Sauce
- 1/4 cup chili garlic sauce ($0.53)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.24)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.16)
Pork and Noodles
- 1/2 lb. ground pork* ($1.50)
- 2 3oz. packages ramen noodles (seasoning packets discarded) ($1.00)
- 3 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
- 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped ($0.12)
Instructions
- Combine the chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a bowl.
- Add the ground pork to a skillet and cook over medium heat until it is fully browned*. Once browned, add the prepared dragon sauce and chopped peanuts. Allow the pork and peanuts to simmer in the sauce for another 5 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced by half.
- While the pork is browning, begin boiling water for your noodles. Once boiling, add your noodles and cook according to the package directions. Drain the noodles in a colander.
- Once the sauce has reduced and the noodles have drained, add the noodles to the skillet and toss until everything is combined and coated in sauce. Top with sliced green onions and serve!
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Pork and Peanut Dragon Noodles – Step by Step Photos
Prepare the dragon sauce by combining 1/4 cup chili garlic sauce, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and 1/4 cup brown sugar.
This is the chili garlic sauce I’m talking about. You can find it in most stores right next to the sriracha. It’s kind of like a chunkier version of sriracha. It’s a mix of red chiles, garlic, vinegar, and salt. Super simple, but easier than adding all of those ingredients to your sauce individually. :)
Add 1/2 lb. ground pork to a skillet and cook over medium heat until it’s browned and cooked through. The ground pork I used was about 25% fat. It had enough fat so that I didn’t have to add any extra oil, but not so much that I had to drain off any excess fat after browning. You want about 1 Tbsp fat in the skillet to combine with the sauce, so if your pork is really greasy, drain some off before the next step.
Add the dragon sauce to the browned pork, along with 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts that have been chopped.
Let the pork and peanuts simmer in the sauce for about five minutes, or until the sauce has reduced by half. The sauce should be just thick enough that you can leave a trail in the skillet when you drag your spatula across, and the trail slowly fills in. While the pork and peanuts are simmering, boil the water for your noodles. Cook 6 oz. noodles according to the package directions. Drain the cooked noodles in a colander.
The pork is almost candied at this point and is SO GOOD that I had a hard time not just eating it out of the skillet. The peanuts kind of absorb the sauce as well. It’s just too good to be true.
Add the drained noodles to the pork and peanut mixture. Toss until everything is combined and coated in sauce.
Once everything is combined, sprinkle a few sliced green onions over top and serve!
So freaking good, guys. So good.
And like I said in the intro, these noods are really rich, so I suggest serving them with something green. Because the noodles are super flavorful you don’t even have to add anything to your greens. Just leave them fresh to contrast the super rich pork and noodles. 👌
So good. I used 1 lb pork and 8 oz noodles as those were the sizes available at my store, and didn’t want to have to find a use for the leftover noodles and pork. I did 1.5 times the brown sugar and soy, but only 1 portion of chili garlic to accommodate our toddlers. The recipe is forgiving enough to be fabulous with those tweaks. So good. I’m planning to make it again soon, maybe with even less chili so it’s a little less spicy for the pickiest of the little ones. This is a home run.
I made this with a a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter in place of the chopped nuts, and crumbled firm tofu instead of the pork. I topped it with steamed broccoli, cilantro leaves, and squeezed a quarter of a lime over. Amazing, fast, and so filling. Served two with left overs for one lunch. I am such a fan of your recipes!
Made this for dinner tonight and my family loved it! I thought it might be a bit spicy for my 11-year old, but he loved it. I have big eaters so I doubled all the ingredients except the ramen (because the package I bought had 9 oz total) and I added 2 small zucchinis sliced in half moons. I just added them to the boiling ramen for the last 3 minutes of cooking. It was not easy to find chili garlic sauce in Muncie, Indiana. They do not have it at Meijer or our Kroger affiliate. We do have a small Asian market and I found it there.
This is quite similar to a traditional Chinese/Korean dish “Zha Jiang Mian/jajianmyung”. I like the spin on it!
Although, I’m cringing at the name “Dragon Noodles” and “Dragon Sauce”…..it oozes whitewashing and is mildly offensive.
My original dragon noodle recipe was so spicy (to me at the time) that I felt like I was breathing fire, hence “dragon” noodles. :)
Agree that this dish is delish–I’m eating it now at my desk, and it’s fantastic! But I have to point out that you wouldn’t have called a spicy pizza or spicy tacos “dragon pizza” or “dragon tacos” would you? Not trying to start anything, I’m a huge fan of your site! But it seems like Jade has a lot of knowledge on the subject, and has a point :) Maybe “Spicy peanut pork noodles” would be a better name!
It’s true. I just wanted to make sure she knew I wasn’t just picking random cultural buzzwords. Hopefully because I was experiencing an actual association with dragons makes it less offensive, but I’m not the one to make that call. The food world is a place where a lot of cultural mish-mashing happens and it can be tricky to navigate. I appreciate you both calling it to my attention!
Dig the site Beth, really neat idea to include the pricing of each meal on the front page! Great meals and ideas! As far as noodles go, this one looks like a good one to try!
Looks amazing! I’ve always envied your dragon noodles, but have never gotten around to making them. These look a bit less spicy, a bit more sweet/savory, what do you think?
Also, I’m allergic to most nuts (all of them except almonds), so do you think almonds would work as a substitute? Or maybe a non-nut substitution?
Thanks as always, Beth! I read your blog all the time!
Yes, this one is definitely very sweet and savory! :) I don’t think you’d necessarily need to add anything to replace the nuts. They add a nice crunch, but the sauce is also super good on its own.
I added some of those french’s crunchy onion strips just for the texture. Really liked the crunch they gave.
This looks so yummy! I can’t wait to try it.
Where did you get the plate? I love it!
Excellent dish! I threw in some cashews with the peanuts and added some onion to the meat mixture. I chopped the bok choy and tossed it into the meat mixture, just before adding the noodles. Will be having this again!
How spicy is the child garlic sauce?
It says “chili.” There is going to be some heat, but it will vary by brand. I could tell you this is pretty mild, which it is for me, but if you want to try this recipe, add just a little and work up. I find the recipe amount to be perfect for a piquant dish and not particularly spicy for my family–one of my grandsons dumped on more hot sauce. Start with a single teaspoon if you aren’t used to spicy dishes. I personally find the chili garlic sauce much more flavorful than the sriracha in the original dragon noodle recipe.
Ramen dishes are winners with teenage boys. I fixed this last night for a college aged grandson, and he loved it, and expect it is something that will happen often for him, probably with hamburger instead of pork since he shops fast and easy. I personally like more veggies, and added some leftover broccoli and spinach to my portion, but this was perfect for him as written
It’s fairly spicy because it’s literally just red chiles, garlic, vinegar, and salt, but I find that the brown sugar in the recipe does dampen the heat a good deal. That being said, everyones’ tolerance to heat varies, so I can’t say for sure if you would find it too spicy.
I wish I had the damn ‘heart eyes’ emoji on this keyboard because
HEART EYES HEART EYES HEART EYES
just isn’t cutting it!
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This looks so good- must make. I bet this would also be a fantastic way to use up part of a batch of shredded pork shoulder/butt (pulled pork). I can just taste the crispy bits around the edges of the pork! If you sauté that in the pan til crispy, then add the sauce and noodles, I bet it would be a-MA-zing! Thanks, Beth!!
If I wanted to add the napa cabbage, when would you suggest I throw it in?
I would sauté it for just a couple minutes after you simmer the pork and peanuts in the sauce. Sauté it just until it softens a bit (or more if you prefer it really soft), then add the noodles and serve. :)
Are those napa cabbages in the last picture?
They are baby bok choy. :)
Yes, what brand are the noodles? Look simple but really good.
The writing on the package is not in English (they were from an international market), so I’m not sure. :P
Hey Beth, those noodles look great! What brand noodles are those?
They’re Ramen noodles. :-)
I’m not sure, the package was not in English. :)
I’m excited to make this recipe for dinner this week!!! :-)