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. 👌
Love the dragon noodles. However, may I make a suggestion to help round out the flavor. I added ~1.5 teaspoons of rice vinegar to make everything pop. Absolutely delicious and will be making again.
Fantastic easy meal!
I’m sure it would have been wonderful strictly following the ingredients, but had to make a couple changes!
We didn’t have peanuts on accident(😨) and didn’t feel like going to the store, so we substituted walnuts (sounded better than almonds), and added peanut sauce to the sauce mix in lieu of some of the chili garlic, and we were blown away by how amazing the walnuts were. I actually think we prefer them to peanuts in term of texture and the way they sort of soak up the sauce.
Will definitely cook again!
Walnuts are a great addition to sauces! I’m glad it turned out great in this recipe! If you haven’t already, you should check out our recipe for Lentil Bolognese, which also uses walnuts. Here’s the link: https://www.budgetbytes.com/lentil-bolognese/
~Marion :)
I love the flavors of this recipe and that it’s quick and easy to make. The first time I made it exactly as written but found the ground pork too rich for my tastes, so I use ground chicken instead.
Hello, I don’t really care for ground pork. Can you tell me what I could substitute for it instead please? Thanks!
Honestly, a lot of things work. You can go with razor thin chicken slices, ground chicken, ground beef. The hidden secret here is that shrimp is fantastic with this as a base. My advice would be to make separate sauces for the shrimp and noodles. Do the noods as written. For the shrimp, do a variation. Make a sauce from 1/4 cup each soy sauce and 1/4 cup honey. Add a teaspoon or more of grated fresh ginger and either 2 diced cloves or one tablespoon of garlic. Add a drop or two of sesame oil if desired. That amount of sauce is for a pound of shrimp. Use half of the sauce to marinate the cleaned shrimp in the fridge, at least 15 minutes, but several hours is better.
Get a skillet heated over medium, add a tablesppon of neutral oil. Saute shrimp on one side for not more than 3 minutes, more like 90 seconds (you will see the white creeping up the sides about half way). Flip them over, add the rest of the sauce, turn up the heat a little, and let them finish cooking in about another 2-3 minutes. Toss well to coat the shrimp. Add to the prepared noodle dish, serving over top. This always wins, never loses.
Any ground meat like beef, chicken or turkey; cubed tofu; or maybe even cauliflower? Just go with what you like or omit it altogether! We also have a similar recipe using shrimp. Here’s the link: https://www.budgetbytes.com/lime-shrimp-dragon-noodles/
~Marion :)
Made this for supper tonight and it is delicious! I used a little less of the chilli garlic sauce than called for and added a side of kimchi. We will make this again! Thanks for the recipe.
I really want to make this, but I can’t find the chilli garlic sauce in stock anywhere, even Amazon! Is there something I could sub that with? Thanks!
https://www.amazon.com/Huy-Fong-Sauce-Chili-Garlic/dp/B08BWF6CYB/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=chili+garlic+sauce&qid=1677871641&sr=8-6
https://www.amazon.com/Dynasty-Garlic-Paste-Chili-Ounce/dp/B0001E1IQ0/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=chili+garlic+sauce&qid=1677871641&sr=8-7
Any Asian market will have it – Walmart also has it in the Asian food section.
So simple, so delicious. My boyfriend And I LOVE these. We cook often and like to try new recipes, and this recipe is some we come back to often. It just hits the spot and is so yummy.
This was so good and so easy to make!!
I made this last night. It was so easy and I loved the flavors! It will be a repeat in our house.
One of the many recipes from this site I have on regular rotation! This one is one of my favorites, super simple and so versatile. I’ve made it with all types of ground meat and often add veggies and it’s been great every time.
Also…just made it again and if you have dark soy sauce, ADD IT! Provides great depth of flavor. Frozen chopped broccoli is my favorite veggie add-in. It’s cheaper than florets and are in handy bite size pieces.
Absolutely delicious. This is my favorite quick and easy go to meal. Tastes better than take out! 10/10 would recommend.
Yum! This is a great and easy dinner. I couldn’t find the chili garlic sauce so I used gochuhang sauce. I will definitely make it again.
I’ve made this a dozen times; it’s definitely a favorite for me. I’m a wimp on heat, so I sub out the garlic chili for Mae Ploy sweet garlic chili and it gives just enough kick without sacrificing flavor. I would love to incorporate a veggie to make it one pot stop, have you tried cooking any veggie with it that pairs well?
Hey! I used mushrooms and small broccoli florets in mine and I thought it turned out excellent! I also didn’t want to wash another pan and just threw the bok choy in the pork pan right before I added the noodles. I thought they all paired really well, but I definitely recommend the mushrooms and bok choy for sure!
Made this with a block of tofu & package of Trader Joe’s beef less ground beef & it was a HUGE success! I also used some almond butter I had instead of peanut butter. The sauce is such a dynamic flavor combination, this is definitely going on my recipe rotation. 🙌🏾
Delicious flavor but way too spicy for us as written (admittedly we are wimps with spicy food!). We reduced the garlic chili paste and made it again and it’s a 10/10. On the regular lunch rotation now!
SO GOOD! I used cashews instead of peanuts and still tasted great, It was quite spicy so use less if you prefer it mild. Me and my Partner loved this dish. Its good I’ve been thinking about it all day and can’t wait to make it tonight.