What does it taste like? Garlicky, of course, and salty, but nuanced. The seasonings are oyster sauce, soy sauce and fish sauce, so, you can just imagine how rich the salty part is.
Another way to get an idea about how the noodles will roll in your mouth is to think Italian spaghetti aglio e olio. Now, give it Asian flavors and you have a good grasp of what this dish is all about.
Start by sauteeing garlic in butter. Yes, butter. This is a fusion dish, after all. Wait until the garlic starts to caramelize before adding egg noodles. Toss until every strand is glistening with the flavorful butter.
So, you may be thinking that, except for the substitution of egg noodles for Italian pasta and butter for olive oil, it does seem like spaghetti aglio e olio, right?
Well, we season the noodles with Asian sauces to give the dish a decidedly Asian taste. Soy sauce, oyster sauce and fish sauce are drizzled in.
The noodles are tossed until all the sauces are evenly distributed and the coloring is uniform. Your kitchen will be wafting with so much lovely aroma and you may be tempted to go ahead and dig in, but… wait!
The toppings are just as essential to the dish as the seasonings. Cheese and greens. Parmesan is the more popular cheese that goes on top of noodles but we’re partial to Pecorino. And if parsley is the default herb garnish for pasta dishes, thinly sliced scallions go on top of our garlic noodles.
Garlic Noodles
Ingredients
- 300 grams fresh Asian egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil - we used palm oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ tablespoon oyster sauce
- ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon fish sauce
- ground pepper - to taste
- juice from half a lime or lemon - (optional but highly recommended)
- sliced scallions - to garnish
- grated cheese - (we used Pecorino), to garnish
Instructions
- Blanch the noodles in boiling water, drain, dump in a bowl of iced water, allow to get cold than drain again.
- In a wok, heat the oil and butter.
- Saute the garlic for a few minutes until just starting to brown.
- Add the noodles and toss thoroughly to coat each strand with the flavorful oil.
- Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and fish sauce.
- Toss the noodles until the sauces have been distributed evenly and the noodles are heated through.
- Divide the garlic noodles among four bowls.
- Optionally, squeeze lemon juice over the noodles.
- Sprinkle the garlic noodles with scallions and grate cheese directly over each bowl before serving.
