By J. Kenji López-Alt
Updated March 28, 2024
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- 4(9,439)
- Notes
- Read community notes
These noodles, adapted from the cookbook "The Wok" by J. Kenji López-Alt, and based on the noodle dish originally created and served by Helene An at San Francisco’s Thanh Long restaurant, are extraordinarily simple and delicious on their own, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fancy them up a bit. They go very well with seafood, and some raw, shell-on shrimp stir-fried along with the garlic right from the start would be an excellent addition. Recently, I’ve taken to adding a few spoonfuls of tarako or mentaiko — Japanese salted pollock roe. Sushi-style flying fish roe (tobiko) or salmon roe (ikura) would also be a great addition, as would chunks of crab or lobster meat, or even Western-style caviar (if you’re feeling flush).
Featured in: These Garlic Noodles Cross Cultures, but Are Deeply San Franciscan
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 4tablespoons unsalted butter
- 20medium garlic cloves, minced or smashed in a mortar and pestle
- 4teaspoons oyster sauce
- 2teaspoons light soy sauce or shoyu
- 2teaspoons fish sauce
- 1pound dry spaghetti
- 1ounce grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano (heaping ¼ cup)
- A small handful of thinly sliced scallions (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
578 calories; 15 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 91 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 593 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
Step
1
Melt the butter in a wok or saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and fish sauce, and stir to combine. Remove from the heat.
Step
2
Meanwhile, bring 1½ inches of water to a boil in a 12-inch skillet or sauté pan over high heat. (Alternatively, heat up just enough water to cover the spaghetti in a large Dutch oven or saucepan.) Add the pasta, stir a few times to make sure it’s not clumping, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente (about 2 minutes short of the recommended cook time on the package).
Step
3
Using tongs, transfer the cooked pasta to the garlic sauce, along with whatever water clings to it. (Reserve the pasta water in the skillet.) Increase the heat to high, add the cheese to the wok, and stir with a wooden spatula or spoon and toss vigorously until the sauce is creamy and emulsified, about 30 seconds. If the sauce looks too watery, let it keep reducing. If it looks greasy, splash some more cooking water into it and let it re-emulsify. Stir in the scallions (if using), and serve immediately.
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9,439
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Cooking Notes
Ian from Salt Spring Island, BC Canada
I’ve been using my meat tenderizing mallet for smashing garlic lately. Turns it into a creamy paste. Does a great job and I’ll use it with this recipe.
Eileen
I keep a large bulb of garlic, roots intact, in a small vase (one that held a hyacinth bulb purchased at Aldi works well). Use the tall green shoots from the garlic instead of scallions to add flavor and greenery to any number of dishes. The roots that grow swirl in a lovely pattern in the bottom of the vase, and the bulb will continue to produce shoots for weeks.
Gigi
As a Vietnamese immigrant whose parents owned a restaurant for decades in Denver, I would like to add another essential condiment/sauce in the canon of Vietnamese cooking called Maggi. My family makes this dish using Maggi and not fish sauce. Just thought I'd offer this up as another way to make these yummy noodles. Maggi, in its iconic curvaceous dark brown bottle, is not made of soy but wheat protein. You will often that tangy saltiness in Vietnamese sandwiches.
Patrick
YiaYia, a mortar and pestle crushes the garlic, releasing its flavors and oils, but a food processor just cuts it up finely, and the hard sides of the garlic are still intact, albeit smaller. But, little of the garlic’s flavor is released when it is simply cut into small pieces, so if you don’t have a mortar and pestle, it’s better to crush the garlic with the flat side of a heavy knife, and then mince it.
RobinP
Have been cooking pasta in a skillet for years. Use approximately 3 cups of water per 12 oz of pasta in 12-inch skillet. Turn heat to high. Cook approximately 10 minutes, stirring frequently, adding more water towards end if needed as noodles absorb the water and soften. Add favorite sauce - or transfer as recommended in this recipe and toss till you are happy with the finish.
James F
Hamish, Folks have tested this plenty of times - there's basic science to it. Here's one article from a colleague of Kenji's:https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-mince-chop-garlic-microplane-vs-garlic-pressThat said, we cook for our homes, not a lab. Process the garlic any which way you want. The important thing is someone wanting to cook.
Jacques B
DO not buy crushed garlic in a jar. You can get away with whole peeled garlic in a crunch. Garlic is easy to use peel a few bulbs and leave it whole in your fridge and then you will have the pleasure of using garlic in your cereal in the morning.(just to see if anyone is reading)
michelle
Unusual for me, completely followed the recipe, no changes. I'll never cook pasta in a pot again.Added a fair amount of the pasta water, to the end product and tasted like we had a cream sauce. This is amazing, no leftovers ...and chop the garlic however you want!
CFXK
1. On a well supported cutting board, smash garlic cloves with the flat side of a chef's knife - making sure to: hold the handle of the knife over the edge of the board; center the blade over the garlic (lest you send the clove flying across the kitchen); and give the side of the blade a nice hard whack.2. Gather smashed cloves into what will look almost like a pile of pulp, and mince away.Easy; fast; efficient - and a great way to channel aggression.
Lena
I have made this dish dozens of times over the last few years and it's always delicious. I do have a suggestion, however. The amount of sauce needs to be at least doubled from what is suggested above. Keep the butter and garlic on a very low flame so the garlic doesn't burn. Turn the heat off before adding the cheese.
Brad
I found a garlic "rocker" on Amazon while browsing kitchen utensils. I's a bent bar shape with small holes in the center. You press down and rock back and forth on a garlic clove and it pushes the garlic through the holes, releasing the most intense garlic flavor. It's much like a press, but without the messy clean up and frustration of getting all the garlic out of the press. It cleans up in about 15 seconds.I'll never mince garlic again!
MenloPaul
I think there is also a little tangerine juice to counter the garlic, as in their sumptuous roast crabs...
Betsy
Fresh is surely better, but those little jars of minced garlic really do make life easier.
MichaelH
There are lots of vegan fish sauces and oyster sauces available, and they taste great. I live in Northern Virginia, so I get them from H Mart, but you can also find online. The vegan oyster sauce I prefer is Kikkoman. ps I just checked the bottle and it says vegetarian, not vegan - but I don't see anything in the ingredient list that's non-vegan.
laurie
1- Trust and follow the pasta cooking method - but stir to unstick from pan 2- Use all the garlic even if it seems like too much 3- Add a bit more of each of the sauces, and more like 1/2 c. cheese I ended up not even needing to drain the pasta, end result was perfectly creamy/emulsified, not greasy in the slightest. I told my Roman-born husband it was like Vietnamese carbonara. We added lots of black pepper (like the crab dish has). Anyone tried it w/ bottarga instead of cheese?
lil seal cheffin up
No joke, not enough garlic. Kinda bland
Karyn in Berkeley
Our veggie guest needed for protein so we added a LB of tofu cubed. It broke up a bit but that was fine. Also added mustard greens and mushrooms for a complete dinner! LOVE this recipe!
Cindy
This was delicious! I made it as per the recipe and decreased the salt in the pasta water (because of the sodium in the ingredients). A keeper!
Delilah7
PERFECT. 8-53 at our table and all loved it. Shhh! Just don’t tell them it has fish sauce!
celie kreilkamp
This is AWESOME. By chance I had a caprese salad on the side and highly recommend adding cherry tomatoes. Added perfect sweetness and acidity.
ursula
Added some firm tofu and spinach to a smaller bag of pasta and helped the nutritional value.
Yoda Naman
This actually has a "Vietalian" vibe, with the spaghetti & cheese(s). I do love shallow-cooking pasta rather than boiling it in a tank of water. Nice, rich broth.Only item I'd add is maybe a squeeze of lime or some shredded basil or cilantrol.
BC from Alameda, CA
I've made this once but didn't use all the garlic recommended. We made it with a full pound of spaghetti noodles and it needed more garlic so don't skimp! Also, save lots of pasta water for the right consistency. Be careful adding the parmesan, I'm not great at getting the temp correct so I ended up with clumps, but still tasty. I'll be adding a splash of Worcestershire and extra red pepper flakes at the end this time for a little more kick as well. Definitely worth making!
David P.
Pretty good, but could be saucier.
Nicolette Pizzitola
Absolutely delicious! Brings a tremendous depth of flavor to a favorite dish! Perfect!
Rob
I've used Worcester sauce in place of the recommendations and it's quite lively.
Curtis
Definitely save pastaWater and no need to dripThe waterOffThe pasta too thoroughly
flyingrobots
Dang this was good
Mary
The garlic was a bit of a pain to prep (I used a garlic press), but otherwise, this was a quick and easy meal that everyone liked. It probably goes without saying, but if you don't like garlic, you won't like this dish.
ci jo mo
Made this with about 8 cloves of garlic grated on a microplane. The garlic flavor was very present but not overpowering in the final dish. I wasn’t brave enough to try it with 20 cloves. Added a little more soy sauce after tasting. Didn’t have scallions, chiffonaded some basil and mint. Delish.
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