This is for all the garlic lovers and noodle lovers out there - if you love garlic noodles, you will love this Asian garlic noodles recipe. Full of umami, these super Easy Asian Garlic Noodles will keep you coming back for more. These Asian garlic noodles are garlicky, salty, savory, a little sweet, and full of flavor. It is the perfect bowl of garlic noodles. The best part is it takes 20 minutes to make.
Why you will love this Asian Garlic Noodles recipe
These easy Asian garlic noodles are easy to love. It is especially great on those busy nights when you need something quick to put together that your whole family will love.
Asian noodle recipes will always be a hit. You can play around with different variations of noodles - from pasta noodles, ramen noodles, or even rice noodles - and pair them with different ingredients, and you will always come up with something delicious, like this garlic noodle recipe.
Who knew that parmesan cheese would go so well with a tiny bit of oyster sauce?
This is a great main or side dish that pairs well with protein. These are the best Asian garlic noodle recipe.
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Asian Garlic Noodles Ingredients
Spaghetti
Parmesan cheese
Garlic
Butter
Oyster sauce
Red pepper flakes
Pepper
Salt
Garnish:
Extra parmesan cheese on top
Sesame seeds
Chives or green onions
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
Spaghetti - instead of spaghetti, you can use spaghettini noodles, angel hair pasta noodles, any gluten-free noodles. Any kind of noodles should work for this recipe, such as ramen noodles, knife cut noodles, rice noodles, or Chinese egg noodles. Basically, any type of wheat noodles will do for this noodle dish.
Oyster Sauce - there is a vegetarian oyster sauce. I got mine from Whole Foods but can be found in most grocery store. If you don't like oyster sauce. You can mix dark soy sauce, brown sugar, and fish sauce. Refer to my pantry list for the different types of sauces. Dark soy sauce adds depth of flavor and a rich color to noodle dishes like this.
Garlic - this recipe requires lots of garlic. Fresh garlic is a must, do not use garlic powder.
Pepper - I used white pepper for this recipe, but black pepper will be just as good.
Red chili flakes - red chili flakes adds a subtle heat. If you want spicy chili garlic noodles, add chili oil. It would be delicious.
How To Make Asian Garlic Noodles
- In a large pot, boil water for the pasta. Salt it generously.
- Cook the noodles according to the package directions.
- In a skillet, add a little bit of oil and saute the thinly sliced garlic. It should be brown and fragrant, not burnt. This is where you add the red chili peppers for an extra kick. Optional but strongly recommended.
- On medium heat, add the butter and oyster sauce. Cook for 2 minutes and cover the skillet with a lid.
- Strain the noodles and save 1 cup of pasta water.
- Put the noodles in the skillet with the garlic sauce, and add some pasta water. Combine well with the asian stir fry sauce. The pasta water will help thicken the sauce.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more pasta water if the noodles are dry. It should be saucy, not dry.
- Add the parmesan cheese but save some for garnish.
- Mix well. Garnish with crispy fried garlic that was set aside, green onions, and more parmesan cheese.
- Serve and enjoy!
Variations to elevate this Asian noodle dish even more
Spicy - this dish can be a little spicy or super spicy. Add chili oil for an extra hit of spicy.
Vegan - omit the butter and use olive oil or sesame oil instead. You can also substitute oyster sauce with vegetarian oyster sauce or mix soy sauce with a bit of brown sugar to add a sweet flavor.
Add MORE protein - add cooked protein with such as chicken, shrimp, beef or tofu with oyster sauce, soy sauce, or fish sauce, garlic, and brown sugar for added sweetness to make this a complete meal!
Make it EXTRA - pair this noodle dish with prawns or any fish. Saute it with the garlic and remove and set aside while you cook the pasta noodles. You can also add a splash of fish sauce or soy sauce for an umami flavor. Combine at the end, and it's the perfect meal.
Add soy sauce - Since soy sauce can be easily found in your kitchen, you can use this to add more flavor to your noodles! All you have to do is drizzle a bit of soy sauce on top of the noodles after serving.
Kid friendly - remove the red chili flakes.
Equipment
Large skillet with lid
Large pot
Knife
Cutting board
Cheese grater or food processor for grating cheese
Storage
These delicious Asian Garlic Noodles can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two. Great meal for lunch the next day.
Top Tips
- Cook the pasta al dente. For best results, cook the pasta/spaghetti noodles 1 minute before it is done to ensure chewy noodles. You will cook it a little more in the sauce, so account for the cooking times.
- If using pasta noodles, such as spaghetti noodles, heavily salt the large pot of water. It should taste like the sea.
- As much as possible, avoid using garlic powder at all costs and use fresh garlic for this recipe since the authentic garlic flavor is what we're aiming for for these Asian Garlic Noodles.
- Garnish the noodles with different toppings such as freshly grated Parmesan cheese, toasted sesame seeds or a drizzle of sesame oil, and chopped green onions or chives.
Top Tips for this Asian Garlic Noodles Recipe
#1: Cook the pasta al dente. For best results, cook the pasta/spaghetti noodles 1 minute before it is done to ensure chewy noodles. You will cook it a little more in the sauce, so account for the cooking times.
#2: If using pasta noodles, such as spaghetti noodles, heavily salt the large pot of water. It should taste like the sea.
#3: As much as possible, avoid using garlic powder at all costs and use fresh garlic for this recipe since the authentic garlic flavor is what we're aiming for for this Asian Garlic Noodles.
#4: Garnish the noodles with different kind of toppings such as freshly grated Parmesan cheese, toasted sesame seeds or a drizzle of sesame oil, and chopped green onions or chives. These add texture, flavor, and visual appeal to the dish.
Easy Asian Garlic Noodles - FAQ
Garlic Noodles are a simple dish to make that consists of garlic, some seasonings like oyster sauce or soy sauce, and any type of noodles you have. This is a great way to make something out of nothing. Traditionally made with Chinese egg noodles, but any noodles work, even pasta noodles.
San Francisco. Thanh Long Restaurant back in 1971. It was a Vietnamese restaurant. This popular dish became an iconic dish and is much beloved by the Bay Area people. It has been reinvented over and over again.
The basic ingredients for Asian garlic noodles include noodles (such as spaghetti or egg noodles), fresh garlic, butter or sesame oil, dark soy sauce or oyster sauce, brown sugar for added sweetness, and seasonings like red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Optional ingredients may include Parmesan cheese, sesame seeds, and green onion for garnish.
Yes, Asian garlic noodles can be made without dairy by substituting butter with olive oil or a dairy-free margarine. Additionally, you can omit the Parmesan cheese or use a dairy-free alternative instead for garnish.
While it's best to enjoy Asian garlic noodles fresh, you can prepare some components in advance to save time. You can pre-mince the garlic, cook the pasta/spaghetti noodles, or mix the sauce made from oyster sauce/soy sauce/fish sauce, brown sugar, and add green onions and vegetables ahead of time and store them separately until ready to assemble and serve.
Asian garlic noodles pair well with a variety of proteins such as grilled chicken, shrimp, tofu, or beef. You can also serve these garlic noodles together with stir-fried vegetables, green onions, steamed broccoli, or a fresh salad for a balanced meal.
Other noodle recipes:
Chili Garlic Noodles (Ready in 10 minutes)
What to serve with these noodles:
Orange Glazed Turkey Meatballs
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Easy Asian Garlic Noodles - ready in 15 minutes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a large pot of salted water, boil water for the pasta. Salt it generously.
- Cook the noodles according to the package instructions.
- In a skillet, add a little bit of oil and saute the garlic. It should be brown and fragrant, not burnt. Remove some of the fried garlic and set it aside for garnish.
- Add the red chili peppers for an extra kick. Optional but strongly recommended.
- On medium heat, add the butter and oyster sauce. Cook for 2 minutes and cover the skillet with a lid.
- Strain the cooked pasta and save 1 cup of pasta water.
- Put the noodles in the skillet with the garlic sauce, and add some pasta water. Combine well with the sauce. The pasta water will help thicken the sauce.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more pasta water if the noodles are dry. It should be saucy, not dry.
- Add the parmesan cheese but save some for garnish.
- Mix well. Garnish with crispy fried garlic that was set aside, green onions, and more parmesan cheese.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Cook the pasta al dente. For best results, cook the pasta noodles 1 minute before it is done to ensure chewy noodles. You will be cooking it a little bit more in the sauce, so account for the cooking process.
- If using pasta noodles, such as spaghetti noodles, heavily salt the large pot of water. It should taste like the sea.
- As much as possible, avoid using garlic powder at all costs and use fresh garlic for this recipe since the authentic garlic flavor is what we're aiming for with the garlic sauce.
- Garnish the noodles with different kinds of toppings such as Parmesan cheese, toasted sesame seeds, or a drizzle of sesame oil, and chopped green onions and chives. These add texture, flavor, and visual appeal to the dish.
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Nora says
Very easy and basic engredients, how i wish i have known this on my college days😅
Sarah says
hmm cant decide what protein i can paired with it. Can you suggest one recipe from yours?
Kash says
I owe you, Carmen! These adds to my garlic obsession recipes.
Dani says
Didn’t follow to a tee, but excellent idea to combine butter, parm, chili flakes, soy sauce, white pepper, a little oyster sauce, and a whole lot of garlic absolutely delicious
Carmen Spillette says
Thank you Dani.I am happy you enjoyed it.
Ryne Muller says
could I add asparagus to it? it's in season. pairing it with miso cod.
Carmen Spillette says
100% you can. That would be so good!
Jonas says
Can't get enough of this dish! Made it for a family gathering and everyone wanted the recipe! Thanks Carmen
Carmen says
Thank you so much!
Gisele Mills says
This was so easy to make and had such a unique flavor. I've made this a couple times now and I absolutely love it. Even my kids loved it, which is rare!!
Carmen says
Thank you, this makes me so happy!
Carrie says
Needed a quick and simple soul Sunday dinner! This hit the spot- Thanks Carmen.