Creamy Vs Crunchy: Which Peanut Butter Is Better For Thai-Inspired Salad Dressing?

Peanut butter's best savory use is in Thai peanut dressing or sauce; it's the ultimate sweet and salty combination. Nutty peanut butter combines with soy sauce, tangy rice vinegar, a flavorful sweetener like brown sugar or maple syrup, sesame oil, and other aromatics like garlic, chili, and ginger to make a creamy sauce that's perfect for salads, noodles, or dipping things into. Peanut sauce is often garnished with crushed peanuts to provide a contrast in textures and another layer of peanut flavor. But the peanut pieces should be reserved for topping only. Use creamy peanut butter rather than crunchy in your peanut sauce for the best texture and consistency.

Peanut butter itself is an emulsion — a mix of two things that don't mix naturally, like water and oil. Some creamy peanut butters have additives to prevent the separation of the peanuts and the oil released when they are crushed. These additives will help your sauce come together seamlessly after all the other liquid ingredients are added; sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and sometimes water. But even if you choose to use natural peanut butter without additives, opting for creamy rather than crunchy will make it easier to mix everything together yourself to get the smooth sauce or dressing you desire.

Needless to say, authentic Thai peanut sauce is not made with peanut butter; grinding whole roasted peanuts makes peanut sauce richer. But for the sake of convenience, creamy peanut butter is your best bet. For the most basic recipe, you need only three simple peanut sauce ingredients; peanut butter, soy sauce or hoisin, and lime juice or rice vinegar. There are many things you can add from here if you want to make it more flavorful. Adding sweetener will balance the salty and savory ingredients, and to make a spicy peanut sauce, add a chili sauce like sriracha, and chili flakes.

Peanut sauce is a traditional Thai dipping sauce for chicken satay and fresh spring rolls, is delicious tossed to coat rice noodles, and makes the best flavorful, creamy dressing in a salad with fresh, crunchy vegetables. But there's no limit to what you can use this sauce for; put it on whatever your heart desires.