Peanut sauce, attempt #1

On the one hand, I realize I've been pretty inconsistent about posting lately and for that let me just apologize. On the other hand, I've literally spent the last 6.5 hours (since lunch) finalizing, looking up, and formatting a set of references, so perhaps you'll forgive me if I'm not overwhelmingly excited about this post.

Nevertheless, it does deserve at least some excitement. I rank peanut sauce pretty high in the pantheon of foods that truly let us know we have evolved beyond our primate brethren; if it was socially acceptable I would probably just have white rice and peanut sauce all day. Every day. Or, that is, I would if only I could find a recipe I was truly happy with. Thus, let me present the first in what will doubtless be an intermittent series as I embark on my own little quest for the perfect peanut sauce.

Combine the following: 0.6 cups neutral vegetable oil (you can already tell I've search high and low for this recipe, right? I mean, what kind of recipe starts out with 3/5 of a cup of anything?), 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar, 1/4 soy sauce, 3 tablespoons dark sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds (white; toasted), 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 1.5 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, and 1/2 cup smooth, natural peanut butter.

Whisk it all together and serve over, e.g., soba noodles with snap peas, red bell peppers, and green onions. Makes enough peanut sauce for...a lot of food.

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Verdict: Excellent. But since I promised this would be the start of an intermittent series you probably have already guessed that I am not totally satisfied with this. It's definitely the best of all the peanut sauces I have made in the past but... there's some small amount of balance that I think the flavor lacks. Maybe I need to add a little bit of something spicy to balance it out? Maybe more ginger? I don't know. Any suggestions?