These Vietnamese garlic noodles are addictive and are perfect with any kind of grilled fish or meat or if I’m in the mood, sometimes I eat them on their own.
I had a similar dish at Thanh Long, a restaurant in San Francisco, so when I came home, I tried to re-create it, and this is my best effort.
Why I love this dish?
It’s super easy to prepare and will satisfy any garlic craving. Its packed with umami and is really hits the spot.
4 Tbsp Butter 10 Garlic cloves, minced or smashed. 1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce 2 tsp Light Soy Sauce 2 tsp Fish Sauce 1 lb Spaghetti or Linguini 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano mixed 1/2 cup Green Onions.
Preparation:
Put the butter into pan with the garlic and green onions and sauce gently, add the other ingredients and then remove the sauce pan from heat. Be careful not to let the garlic get too brown or it will get bitter.
Boil your water and cook the pasta until just al dente, save a little pasta water. Drain and add all ingredients and mix well with the pasta water until creamy, add cheese and sprinkle extra green onions on top.
Note: Only salt the pasta water very lightly or not at all, because the sauce ingredients already have a lot of salt. You can always add more salt, but you can’t take it away.
I stumbled across this in Fuschia Dunlop’s book, “Land of Fish and Rice”. It looked excellent and she raved about eating it a few times a week.
Sadly, I was fresh out of dried shrimp. Shame on me. I have made it with dried shrimp and I actually prefer it with fresh. And I added the fish sauce for a little extra umami.
However I did have whole shrimp, so decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did, as the flavor of the spring onion oil is unlike anything I’ve ever had. It was subtle, pleasantly sweet and packed with flavor.
The most important tip:
One of the best things you can remember about shrimp is that when they curl they’re done. Don’t wait for them to turn pink, when they curl, they’re done and set them aside the carryover cooking will cook them through.
Ingredients
10 large raw Shrimp, peeled and tails left on
3 Tbsp Rice Wine
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Fish Sauce
4-5 Spring Onions, cleaned and cut into 2 inch pieces.
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
8 oz of thin noodles, I used ramen and udon would work too.
Preparation:
Begin by combining the shrimp, rice wine, sugar and fish sauce and leave it to marinade for at least an hour in the refrigerator.
Start your water, so you can quickly cook the noodles when needed.
Heat the oil in the wok and add the spring onions and cook until they start to become golden brown. Then remove the shrimp from the marinade and add to the wok and stir fry until they curl. One of the best things you can remember about shrimp is that when they curl they’re done. Don’t wait for them to turn pink, when they curl, they’re done and set them aside the carryover cooking will cook them through. Set the wok aside.
Add your soy sauce into the bottom of your serving bowl.
Drop your noodles into the water and cook for just a few minutes, drain and add back into the wok. Toss the noodles well to coat and put them into your serving bowl. Toss again to coat with soy sauce.
Easy Shrimp Stir-Fry Recipe with Flavorful Spring Onion Oil
I stumbled across this in Fuschia Dunlop’s book, “Land of Fish and Rice”. It looked excellent and she raved about eating it a few times a week. Sadly, I was fresh out of dried shrimp. Shame on me. I have made it with dried shrimp and I actually prefer it with fresh. And I added the fish sauce for a little extra umami.
4-5Spring Onionscleaned and cut into 2 inch pieces.
2TbspSoy Sauce
3TbspVegetable Oil
8ozof thin noodlesI used ramen and udon would work too.
Equipment
Wok
Method
Begin by combining the shrimp, rice wine, sugar and fish sauce and leave it to marinade for at least an hour in the refrigerator.
Start your water, so you can quickly cook the noodles when needed.
Heat the oil in the wok and add the spring onions and cook until they start to become golden brown. Then remove the shrimp from the marinade and add to the wok and stir fry until they curl. One of the best things you can remember about shrimp is that when they curl they’re done. Don’t wait for them to turn pink, when they curl, they’re done and set them aside the carryover cooking will cook them through. Set the wok aside.
Add your soy sauce into the bottom of your serving bowl.
Drop your noodles into the water and cook for just a few minutes, drain and add back into the wok. Toss the noodles well to coat and put them into your serving bowl. Toss again to coat with soy sauce.
