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Home Quick and Easy

Garlic Noodles

By:Nagi
Published:6 Sep '23Updated:7 Sep '23
79 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

These extraordinarily delicious, yet simple Garlic Noodles are a fusion Asian dish made famous by Thanh Long restaurant in San Francisco, via Kenji Lopez-Alt. Top with a fried egg and vegetables for a quick meal. Also makes an excellent Asian side dish for “anything”!

Bowl of Garlic Noodles with fried egg and broccolini

Garlic noodles

This is yet another example of an excellent fusion Asian dish that brings together Asian and Western ingredients to create something incredibly tasty. Big garlic flavours – with a secret ingredient: parmesan. Yes, you read that right! Parmesan. Mixed with Asian sauces (oyster, fish sauce and Maggi seasoning or soy sauce) and a stack of garlic, it adds a punch of savoury flavour when it melts into the sauce. And it goes amazingly well with the Asian flavours!

Freshly cooked Garlic noodles

Ingredients in Garlic Noodles

Here’s what you need to make Garlic Noodles. There are lots of noodle options but my favourite are ramen / noodles cakes, as pictured below.

Ingredients in Garlic noodles
  • Noodles – As mentioned above, this recipe can be made with any noodles, dried or fresh (from fridge). It’s pictured below made with hokkien noodles. It can even be made with spaghetti – there’s plenty of recipes that use pasta!! But my favourite are ramen / noodles cakes, like those pictured above. The wrinkly nature of those noodles just makes the sauce cling better.

    As for spaghetti – it works and tastes fine, but pasta doesn’t have the same chew that noodles do. I’d still plough ahead if I only had pasta though!

  • Garlic – Lots. We need 2 whole tablespoons of finely minced garlic. The garlic flavour is unmissable in this!

  • Fish sauce – The savoury sauce that’s got more layers of flavour than soy sauce. Though, if you don’t have it, soy sauce can be substituted. Use light or all-purpose soy sauce, not dark soy sauce (too strong). More on different soy sauce types here.

  • Maggi Seasoning is a savoury Asian sauce, I think of it like soy sauce + an Asian Worcestershire sauce. Find it in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores (Coles, Woolies) or Asian stores. It’s used for noodles, stir fries and it’s also the secret ingredient in Banh Mi Sauce.

    Substitute with soy sauce (light or all-purpose, not dark soy). Though note if you substitute both the fish sauce and Maggie Seasoning you will start losing flavour in this dish. 🙂

Maggi Seasoning
Maggi Seasoning – think of it like soy sauce, but with more flavour!
  • Parmesan – The “secret ingredient” that adds a punch of savoury flavour and saltiness! There is subtle parmesan flavour in the dish, it’s not the dominant flavour.

    Be sure to finely shred the parmesan using a microplane or similar so it melts seamlessly into the sauce. If you use store bought pre-grated (sandy type or fine batons) it won’t melt as well. But if that’s all you’ve got, I’d still make this!

  • Butter, not oil. Tastier!

  • Green onion for freshness.

These garlic noodles made with hokkien noodles. Delish!

How to make Garlic Noodles

In the video, you’ll see me boil the noodles then make the sauce using the same saucepan. It works fine because the sauce barely takes a minute to make. But sometimes, I’ll get the sauce going while the noodles are boiling then toss it together in a pan. Do what works for you. 🙂

  1. Reserve noodles water – Cook the noodles per packet directions. Just before draining, scoop out a mugful of the cooking water (this is to make the sauce later). Take at least 1/2 cup or more – you need 1/4 cup for the recipe plus extra just in case.

  2. Drain the noodles then leave in the colander while you make the sauce (it’s barely a minute).

How to cook Garlic noodles
  1. Sauté garlic – In the same saucepan, melt the butter then sauté the garlic for 30 seconds or until it smells ridiculously good.

  2. Sauce – Add the fish sauce, Maggi seasoning, Oyster sauce and 1/4 cup reserved noodle cooking water. Stir to combine the sauce ingredients, there’s no need to simmer or cook it.

    The noodle cooking water is what makes the sauce – the starch in the water helps thicken the sauce so it clings to the noodles.

  3. Noodles & parmesan – Add the noodles and parmesan then toss for 30 seconds or until the sauce is coating the noodles rather than pooling at the bottom of the saucepan. The parmesan will melt seamlessly into the sauce. The noodles should be slick and loose. If it gets sticky and thick (because the heat is too high / tossed for longer than needed), just add a splash of noodle cooking water to loosen it up!

  4. Toss through green onion then serve immediately!

Tongs picking up freshly cooked Garlic noodles

To serve

Make a quick meal out of these garlic noodles by adding a fried egg or slices of boiled egg, plus a side of greens. Pictured at the top is broccolini which I boiled with the noodles then tossed with Asian Sesame Dressing (which you always have in the fridge, right!).

Otherwise, this is literally the perfect side dish that will go with “any” Asian mains that needs a starchy side. I see…..Sticky Chinese Wings, Chinese BBQ Pork, Chinese BBQ Chicken, Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork Steaks, Golden Turmeric Fish or Asian Glazed Barramundi! I’m sure you’re visualising many other options. 🙂 Tell me what you see! – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Bowl of Garlic Noodles with fried egg and broccolini

Garlic Noodles

Author: Nagi
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 6 minutes mins
Noodles, Side, Side Dish
asian fusioin, Asian-esque
4.96 from 21 votes
Servings2
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Quick & easy, this is a fusion Asian dish made famous by Thanh Long restaurant in San Francisco, via Kenji Lopez-Alt. Big garlic flavours and Asian sauces are combined with parmesan which gives it an extra savoury punch. Makes these noodles lip smackingly good!
Add a fried egg and broccolini cooked with the noodles for a quick meal. Or serve as a side with any Asian meal!

Ingredients

Noodles:

  • 140g/ 5oz dried ramen or noodle cakes (2 cakes) – Note 1 for other options

Sauce:

  • 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp (6 cloves) garlic, finely minced (yep, a lot!)
  • 2 tsp oyster sauce (sub vegetarian oyster sauce)
  • 2 tsp fish sauce (sub soy sauce – Note 2)
  • 1 1/2 tsp Maggi seasoning (sub soy sauce – Note 3)
  • 1/4 cup noodle cooking water , more if needed (Note 4)
  • 1/4 cup (tightly packed) finely grated parmesan (freshly grated, Note 5)
  • 1/4 cup green onion , thinly sliced (~1 stem)

Instructions

  • Noodles – Cook the noodles in a large saucepan per packet directions. Scoop out ~1/2 cup cooking water. Strain noodles and set aside.
  • Sauce – Melt butter in the same saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until soft. Add oyster sauce, fish sauce, Maggi seasoning and 1/4 cup cooking water. Stir to combine.
  • Toss – Add cooked noodles, parmesan and green onion. Toss until the noodles are all coated, and the sauce is not pooled in the bottom of the saucepan. Add more cooking water 1 tbsp at the time, if needed to loosen the noodles.
  • Serve immediately!
  • Serving suggestion: fried egg and broccolini cooked with the noodles*, tossed with Asian Sesame Dressing you always have in your fridge. 🙂
    * Broccolini takes about 3 minutes, so put it into the water before/after/with the noodles depending on the noodle cooking time.

Recipe Notes:

Recipe adapted from Kenji Lopez-Alt from his cookbook The Wok.
1. Noodles – I like this best with ramen noodles / noodle cakes ie wrinkly, because the garlic bits and sauce clings better. Fresh egg noodles (ie from fridge section, yellow) are a close second – thick or thin (like hokkien, lo mein), use 220g/8oz – or dried egg noodles (amount per recipe).
Angel hair pasta or spaghetti can also be used (amount per recipe) but I prefer noodles as pasta doesn’t have the same “chew” as noodles. If I only had pasta, I’d still make this! Rice noodles also works but texture is different.
2. Fish sauce will give the best savoury flavour here (doesn’t taste fishy!) but can be substituted with soy sauce (light or all-purpose, not dark soy).
3. Maggi Seasoning is a savoury Asian sauce, I think of it like soy sauce + an Asian Worcestershire sauce. Find it in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores (Coles, Woolies) or Asian stores. Staple sauce in South East Asia! Sub with soy sauce (light or all-purpose, not dark soy).
4. Cooking water – This is what creates the sauce that coats the noodles. The starch in the water helps thicken the sauce.
5. Freshly grated parmesan required for smooth melt that disappears into the noodles. Store bought sandy or finely shredded grated won’t melt as perfectly but if that’s all you’ve got, do it!
6. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge, loosen with a touch of water.
Nutrition per serving, assuming 2 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 450cal (23%)Carbohydrates: 45g (15%)Protein: 14g (28%)Fat: 25g (38%)Saturated Fat: 14g (88%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 41mg (14%)Sodium: 2535mg (110%)Potassium: 243mg (7%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 607IU (12%)Vitamin C: 5mg (6%)Calcium: 203mg (20%)Iron: 3mg (17%)
Keywords: garlic noodles
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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Buy a big bag of noodle cakes so you can make these with the leftover noodles:

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Life of Dozer

I returned yesterday from a long overdue but unfortunately very short trip to Tokyo for family reasons. Dozer was, as always, sent to the golden retriever boarder’s place for his own holiday. She sends me daily updates. Here he is at the beach, looking far too happy despite being separated from me. I’m sure he’s weeping on the inside. 😂

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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79 Comments

  1. Sarah says

    December 5, 2023 at 11:25 am

    5 stars
    Yum! Perfect for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.

    Reply
  2. Kelly says

    October 6, 2023 at 1:28 pm

    5 stars
    Didn’t change a thing in this recipe and I could have eaten the whole pot to myself, absolutely delicious!!!

    Reply
  3. Jocelyn says

    September 30, 2023 at 10:11 am

    5 stars
    These are scrumptious!

    Reply
  4. Gail says

    September 26, 2023 at 10:01 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious. If using instant ramen noodles though, I’d recommend cooking maybe a minute less, because mine ended up being a little goopy, especially after absorbing all the sauce + the reserved cooking water. Otherwise, quick and tasty lil lunch!

    Reply
  5. Lisa Bove says

    September 26, 2023 at 9:02 pm

    5 stars
    A big hit! I will have to double next time!

    Reply
  6. Mike Kozlow says

    September 21, 2023 at 8:39 am

    5 stars
    Outstanding. Made as directed subbed the soy for Maggi only because I made it at the last minute. Normally hate fish sauce but it really made the dish.

    Reply
  7. Eva says

    September 17, 2023 at 5:46 pm

    I am so excited to try it out! I will mix the noodles with broccoli right in the pot 🙂 hopefully it will go well 😅

    Reply
  8. Deb says

    September 16, 2023 at 7:41 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve made a self invented version of this for 40+ years. As a single mom I needed a quick, cheap and easy side dish for a picky toddler when I’d get home from work. Egg noodles tossed with butter, parmesan and garlic powder is something he would eat.

    Tonight I’m trying your expanded version 😉 as a side to yummy monkfish. Thanks Nagi x

    Reply
  9. Emily McL says

    September 16, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    5 stars
    So delicious. Parmesan makes it! I reduced the garlic to 1 clove and used the soya sauce sub. Yum! Had it with leftover Nagi’s Asian sticky chicken from the night before 😋

    Reply
  10. Devon Harvard says

    September 14, 2023 at 12:32 pm

    Hello Nagi, i love you recipes <3

    Reply
  11. Pat Rolt says

    September 14, 2023 at 12:03 pm

    I won’t rate this recipe just yet. I cooked it a few nights ago and followed the recipe to the letter. It was my first time trying oyster sauce (I don’t like oysters at all) and my first time trying Maggi seasoning (I don’t like Worcestershire sauce at all). I will try this again and play with the ingredients because it is so quick and easy to make and then I will rate it.

    Reply
  12. Christy says

    September 14, 2023 at 2:36 am

    This looks so good! Hubby and a love noodles and garlic so what’s not to love about this. Can’t wait to make it.

    Reply
  13. Anthony says

    September 12, 2023 at 11:35 pm

    5 stars
    Such a simple and delicious way to prep noodles.!! In the video, love how you use two wooden spoons to mix and toss things. So much easier and more effective than trying to shove things around using just one spoon, a spatula or some tongs.

    Reply
  14. Maria says

    September 11, 2023 at 10:13 pm

    5 stars
    So Delicious!!! I also doubled the recipe for my family and served it with the Everyday Chicken Stir Fry from Nagi’s cookbook. Amazing !! 😋

    Reply
  15. Michelle says

    September 11, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    Wow – I’m not someone who usually leaves a comment but I just threw this together as the quickest lazy Monday dinner ever. It’s absolutely delish. This is going on my wfh lunch rotation forever. Thank you!

    Reply
  16. Rod Rushton says

    September 11, 2023 at 11:02 am

    I will double the amount next time.
    It was superb.
    I added cut up chicken thighs, mushroom, broccoli, and sweet gold pepper.

    Reply
  17. Giselle says

    September 10, 2023 at 6:26 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! Doubled for the family. Might have cooked the noodles just a touch too long but was very Moreish. Definitely need the egg and broccoli and it just all tastes wonderful. My first review and I plan on reviewing all my Nagi recipes. I’m printing everything I have made and creating my own Nagi cookbook.

    Reply
  18. Alex says

    September 10, 2023 at 11:09 am

    4 stars
    Hi Nagi!
    What an interesting flavour profile – at least to me!
    I did not have any Maggi seasoning sauce so I used soy sauce and I found the sauce mixture very tasty.
    I could detect the parmesan but just very subtle.
    I think next time I make this dish – and I will! – I’ll try one of your reader’s suggestions and use half soy sauce and half Worcestershire. This combination seems to make sense to me! Also it may save me buying another bottled sauce I’ll likely rarely use.
    I also had to use 2 different brands of ramen noodles as I did not have enough of one brand. Perhaps I’ll cook the noodles a wee bit less next time as I found they were just a tad softer that I’d like by the time I got the sauce ready – even though it was a very short time. I think it was having 2 different brands in play that resulted in my timing being off!
    Overall, for my taste buds, I’m not quite at a 5 star yet but it still was really delicious.
    Thank you again, Nagi, for bringing us another adventurous recipe!
    I hope you and Dozer are enjoying your transition into spring!
    “Cheers” from the Canadian Prairies!

    Reply
  19. Crystal says

    September 9, 2023 at 11:55 am

    5 stars
    I halved this for lunch for one person, and it was strangely good. I can’t quite put my finger on what makes it so good as the flavour is very unique but it’s somehow addictive. My only changes next time I will use a slightly less strong parmesan cheese, as all I had was a strong fancy, Italian one and MORE garlic 😂

    Reply
  20. Joy O'Reilly says

    September 9, 2023 at 8:58 am

    5 stars
    first things first, make some Easy Guacamole using only four ingredients: avocado, onion, lime, salt. This basic version is tremendously satisfying on its own and it can also be used to make loads of quick meals.

    Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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