Some people say spicy peanut butter noodles are inspired by a Chinese dish (dan dan noodles). It is thought that combining pasta with a fiery peanut butter noodles sauce was crafted in a Chinese American kitchen in the US.   However, peanut sauce has been around for a long time, with many Indonesian and Thai recipes calling for it. It originated in Indonesia as a sauce for skewered meats, aka satay sauce. It has since been adopted by many cultures and used in Asian and Asian-inspired recipes, like this Peanut Butter Chicken Satay Curry recipe.