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Garlic Noodle Recipe


Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American, Vietnamese
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 people
Garlic noodles in a blue bowl on a plate.

Kenji's Amazing 15-Minute Garlic Noodles are a creamy buttery garlic pasta dish that packs a ton of mouthwatering flavor everyone will love! Enjoy this quick recipe as a side dish or as the main meal!

Ingredients  

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 ounces garlic paste
  • 4 teaspoons oyster sauce
  • 2 teaspoons light soy sauce or shoyu
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • salt to season water
  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • cup finely grated Parmesan
  • 2 scallions

Instructions

  • Melt the butter in a wok or deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic paste and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant.
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 4 ounces garlic paste
  • Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, and fish sauce, and stir to combine. Remove from the heat.
    4 teaspoons oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons light soy sauce or shoyu, 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • Meanwhile, bring 1½ inches (about 4 to 5 cups) of water to a boil in a deep 12-​inch skillet over high heat and season with salt. Add the pasta and stir so it doesn't clump. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until just shy of al dente. The pasta will just fit lengthwise in the pan until it begins to soften and then you can stir it around. It's important to reduce the heat so the water doesn't evaporate too quickly and cause the pasta to burn.
    1 pound spaghetti, salt
  • 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 pasta along with ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water, stir with a wooden 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, add a little more starchy water to it and let it re-​emulsify.
    ⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan, 2 scallions
  • Stir in and top with the scallions and additional parmesan cheese, and serve immediately. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Notes

  • You can use a large pot to cook the pasta in if needed, just boil just enough water to cover the spaghetti. Using a smaller amount of water allows the starches in the water to remain condensed yielding amazingly starchy pasta water that will help build your sauce.
  • We sometimes add in an extra tablespoon or two of butter at the end when the pasta and sauce are combined to help it emulsify.
  • 20 fresh garlic cloves can be used in place of the paste, mind finely and crush with mortar and pestle.
  • Make sure to use freshly grated Parmesan, the pre-grated bagged cheese has a coating on it that prevents it from properly melting. Shaker parmesan cheese should not be used.
  • The original recipe calls for just 1/4 cup of Parmesan but my family prefers it with a little more. 
  • I find that the salt from the sauce is enough but we do like finishing with a bit of cracked black pepper and sometimes red pepper flakes.

Nutrition

Calories: 556kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 726mg | Potassium: 418mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 159mg | Iron: 2mg

Find it online: www.sugarandsoul.co/15-minute-garlic-noodles/