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Garlic Noodles

These deceptively simple, yet devastatingly delicious garlic noodles were invented in San Francisco, at a restaurant called, Thanh Long, back in the 70s. Usually served with roasted Dungeness crab, the actual recipe is a very closely guarded family secret, but after lots of investigation, and even more experimentation, I think this is very close, at least for a non-MSG-laced version.
Apparently, one of their “secret” ingredients is something called, Maggi Seasoning Sauce, which I decided not to use, since I’m not sure how easy it is for the average person to find. Besides, I think my assortment of savory, umami-rich substitutes did the job quite nicely, and everything on the ingredient list can be found at any large grocery store.
Most garlic noodles actually call for sugar in the recipe, but I think that makes it too sweet for my taste, since the oyster sauce is fairly sweet, as is all that sautéed garlic. Regardless, whether you enjoy this with some roasted garlic crab, or as is, I really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
Servings: 2 small servings
Author: Food Wishes

Ingredients

Secret Sauce:

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
  • pinch of cayenne pepper

Garlic Noodles:

  • 6 ounces dry egg noodles
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 8 cloves finely minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • thinly sliced green onion to garnish
  • red chili flakes to taste

Instructions

  • Whisk together the Secret Sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
  • Melt the butter in a skillet set over medium heat.
  • As soon as the butter melts and starts to bubble, gently stir in the garlic and cook for about one minute. You just want to take off the raw edge of the garlic, you do not want it to brown.
  • As soon as the garlic is ready, stir in the secret sauce to stop the garlic from cooking further.
  • Turn off the heat set aside until the noodles are ready.
  • Cook the pasta in generously salted water for the full suggested cooking time. You want the pasta to be fully cooked, and perfectly tender, not al dente.
  • Use tongs to transfer the cooked pasta to the skillet with the secret sauce, allowing some of the pasta water to come along during the process.
  • Toss the noodles in the sauce until they are completely coated.
  • Add in the cheese and stir to fully incorporate.
  • Drizzle in additional pasta water if the noodles are too dry.
  • One the pasta is completely sauced, transfer to plates and top with some chili flakes and sliced scallions.

Notes

  • Some commenters have complained about the dish being too salty, two approaches to reducing the saltiness are:
    • Don't salt the pasta water
    • Reduce by 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of salty ingredients in the secret sauce.
    • Double or triple the amount of pasta
  • Goes well with Chicken Katsu, Shrimp, Roasted Garlic Crab, and Salmon.