Thai Peanut Butter Sandwich

Recipe 10 minPreparation Time 0 minCooking Time

Thai Peanut Butter Sandwich

10 minPreparation Time 0 min Cooking Time

About this Recipe

This Thai riff on a tea sandwich takes humble peanut butter to a splendidly savory and aromatic place. You may have found your new favorite (and very portable) lunch. It’s a highly flexible recipe; you can omit the lime leaf and galangal if you can’t find those or add a few pickled green Thai chiles if you like it blazing hot. Honestly, this is pretty great just with the PB, sesame, sriracha, lime, and herbs.

The Benefits

Whole-grain bread and peanut butter by themselves are richly nutritious — full of protein and fiber and important nutrients. The addition of herbs, spices, citrus, and sesame makes this a complete meal: the perfect lunch to provide sustained energy all afternoon.

Ingredients

Makes 1 sandwich (make as many as you like; scale up accordingly)

2 slices whole-grain sandwich bread
2 Tbsp (35g) chunky peanut butter (smooth if you must)
6 drops (1/8 tsp) toasted sesame oil
Sriracha to taste
A little dribble (around 1/2 tsp) of raw honey
Generous squeeze (1/2 Tbsp) of lime
1 dash liquid aminos (or fish sauce if you eat fish)
1/4 tsp (5 g) grated ginger
1/4 tsp (5 g) grated galangal
1/2 a small, tender Makrut lime leaf, cut in chiffonade and then cut again crosswise into tiny squares (1/8 tsp)
3 sprigs of cilantro, leaves stripped
1/4 scallion, some white and some green, sliced thinly on the bias

Directions

Step 1

Lightly toast the bread (for about a minute). You don’t want it crispy and deeply browned, just warm and aromatic. Put the peanut butter, sesame oil, sriracha, honey, and lime juice in a bowl and whisk them together thoroughly. Add the ginger, galangal, and lime leaf, stirring well to combine. Spread the mixture evenly on one slice of bread, arrange the cilantro and scallion on top, and cover with the remaining bread. Cut and serve.
Step 2

For a fancy tea sandwich presentation, trim the crusts off the bread — save them for breadcrumbs — and then quarter the sandwiches into squares or diagonally according to your preference. Stack them attractively, make some Thai iced tea, and dig in.
Step 3

For a quick and easy version, skip the pre-mixing and just assemble it like you would a PB&J: Spread the peanut butter on one slice. Drip on the sesame oil and trowel it around with your knife. Add sriracha and honey to taste and spread them around as well. Top with cilantro and scallion, squeeze on some lime juice, and add the second piece of bread. Bisect it according to your preference, pour yourself a glass of coconut water, and enjoy.

Substitutions: Other nut butters work well, and might suggest other flavor combinations

Level Up: Make your own sandwich loaf

Try It With: Make a platter of these cheddar & raisin chutney tea sandwiches for a fancy high tea vibe

Zero Waste: Use the lime peels, cilantro stems, and scallion greens in a lime pickle