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. 👌
This was an AMAZING weeknight meal. It was super quick to pull together and so incredibly tasty. I will definitely be making this again! I already shared the recipe with a few friends!
Haven’t tried this yet. Wondering if I can use ground beef or chicken? Or do you think that would too significantly alter the dish?
I’ve made it a few times with beef and it’s still delicious. Pork just gives it a little extra ;)
Can you use something other than sugar to make it more healthy like honey?
Yes you can definitely swap with honey. I’ve done that a few times and it tastes great!
So fast and delicious! Totally awesome recipe! Also, the Cucumber Mango Salad goes very well with it.
I’ve made this a few times but this time made a little change. I’ve been eating A LOT of pasta lately. I’ve felt myself getting carb fatigue a little bit over the last few days. So, I decided to sub in zucchini noodles for the ramen here and it turned out everything I’d ever dreamed of. Still the super bold, savory, spicy flavors, but also coolness from the zucchini and an extra much-needed punch of veggies.
This was delicious and so fast. I wish I’d had some baby bok Choy like you did….would have been perfect. We had you Thai cucumbers as a side and they were amazing. Thank you so much.
Wayyyy too spicy – beware. I would start with a spoonful of spicy garlic sauce and go up from there. I’m not sure why there wasn’t a warning for that. We had to throw the whole 2 servings out because of how hot it was. :( otherwise the flavor would’ve been great.
All that alliteration in the description with “sweet, salty, sticky” and not one mention of spicy. Ha. This dish is super spicy, especially for children. That said, my 10- and 5-year-old put in a good effort with a carton of cold milk nearby. We’ll eat the leftovers with some steamed broccoli to cut the salt and spiciness. Otherwise, pretty delicious.
I loved this recipe soooo much. Instead of the full amount of spicy chili paste. I just used a spoonful. I also added whatever veg I had hanging around. This is going on the rotation now.
I just want to say I can’t wait to find more recipes of this caliber on your website. It’s comforting. It’s so easy to make. I end up making it twice when I do get pork because I haven’t found a recipe for leftover pork I love enough. My go-to veg right now has been spinach added just because you can add handfuls and you don’t even realize how many veggies you’re eating.
I have also used coconut aminos and it tasted just as great! It really is a no-frills recipe that I can appreciate during a pandemic.
What kind of ramen do you use?
I personally love Lotus Foods rice ramen.
Would love to make this recipe for husband, who LOVES Indian satay & other peanut-flavored dishes! However, we both have bad teeth & can’t chew hard/crunchy things like nuts, & I was apparently born without the cooking-without-a-recipe gene. ;-) Do you think I could sub in ground peanuts/peanut butter for flavor, & perhaps shelled edamame for some of the texture? (I’d probably also add other innocuous vegetable matter, finely diced, just to bulk it up & allow bigger servings.) Should I adjust the liquid ingredients for extra veggies or peanut in paste form? Thanks very much for help & also all the delightful recipes, tips & reading at BudgetBytes!
I will say that this dish is great is great even if you just skip the peanuts without trying to replace them, so that’s one option. I have had people say they’ve mixed peanut butter into the dragon sauce before, but I don’t know how much and probably can’t recommend an amount without testing it first. You may need to double the sauce, but that just depends on how much extra stuff you add. So while I can’t give exact recommendations to you on this one, just giving it a try is how you develop that “cooking-without-a-recipe” ability. No one is born with it, it’s a learned skill. So don’t feel bad if it takes a while. :)
This was DELICIOUS, and to my astonishment, a hit with my 8yo!! (Also my boyfriend, but that was less astonishing ;) ) I added a head of broccoli cut in small pieces. I couldn’t find chili garlic sauce so I made my own with the first recipe I found on google, haha, and I used a red bell pepper instead of actual chili, so it wasn’t spicy. But you must make do in pandemic times, plus my daughter and I are kind of wimps about spice. ;) Basically this recipe is super versatile and it’s clearly going to be a regular in our rotation!
This was delicious! I subbed rice sticks since it didn’t have ramen noodles and based on so many reviews on the spice level I used one spoonful less than the 1/4 cup and it was perfect for me. Thank you for sharing this super simple but very tasty recipe!
My family loves this. It it quite spicy!
I’m not really finding ground pork. I know it’s weird but can you use ground sausage? Also for the ramen do you put the powder that comes with the ramen in it?
You could use sausage in a pinch. And no do not use the packet that came with the ramen.
I made a few minor edits. I only had like 1/4 cup each of pine nuts and walnuts, so I used both of those. I also added some hoisin sauce and some black bean sauce that I happened to have to the sauce for the noodles. Husband said he would pay $10 for it in a restaurant.
Sorry, meant for that to be a standalone comment, but I am terrible with this interface on mobile. Thanks for the great recipe!
This was so great! I reduced the chili sauce by half, added Napa cabbage and fresh basil to the green onions on top.