Rice Noodles & Green Beans with Tamarind-Almond Butter Sauce Recipe

Sarah | August 2, 2012 | 5 Comments

To curb a budding takeout addiction, I learned how to make Pad Thai at home. Although some recipes call for a substitute of lime juice, the dish traditionally relies on tamarind for its acidity, so I purchased a jar of tamarind paste. I have since become smitten with its sour-sweet bite and am experimenting with other ways to use this new-to-me ingredient. Otherwise, that jar would wind up forgotten in condiment purgatory, better known as the door of the fridge.

So far I’ve been sticking with riffs of Pad Thai: rice noodles, vegetables, and roughly Asian ingredients. I’m sure it’s all far from authentic, but what’s more traditional than taking what you have on hand to put together a meal? The recipe below is a recent dinner using tamarind that comes together quickly and with relatively few ingredients but is still flavorful and satisfying. If you try it out, let me know what you think. And please pass along any of your tamarind-inspired recipes – It’s no small jar!

Rice Noodles and Green Beans with Tamarind-Almond Butter Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 lb green beans (or three large handfuls), cut into bite-sized pieces
6 oz linguine-style rice noodles
1/4 cup creamy almond butter
2 tbsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes

Cooking Directions

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. While waiting on the water, in a small bowl mix together the almond butter, tamarind, soy sauce, and rice vinegar, honey and chili flakes. You may need to add upward of a ¼ c of water to bring the sauce to the consistency of salad dressing.
2. Add the green beans to the boiling water. After a minute or two, turn off the burner and add the rice noodles. The rice noodles should be softened and the green beans fork tender in about five minutes. Strain the water and return the beans and noodles to the pot. Toss with the tamarind-almond butter sauce and serve immediately.
Serves 2 generously

Category: Cooking - Recipes

Comments (5)

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Matt says:

August 2, 2012 at 1:26 pm

Sarah – sounds delicious. So, I’m wondering about a substitute for the almond butter. We’ve got a severe nut allergy in our house and so the almonds are out. Ideas?

Thanks,
Matt
Sarah says:

August 2, 2012 at 4:03 pm

Pardon my ignorance regarding nut allergies, but does that mean just tree nuts? Are peanuts or seeds okay? Peanut butter or tahini could be good subs, but (especially compared to tahini) almonds have a natural sweetness, so you might have to increase the honey to balance out the tamarind.
erin says:

August 4, 2012 at 7:59 pm

This looks so good — can’t wait to try!
Matt says:

August 5, 2012 at 10:37 am

Sarah – depends on the person. In our case, it is all tree nuts and peanuts. Seeds are OK. Really limits her choices. She’s a vegetarian to boot… it can be interesting finding foods.