It feels SO weird to not be spending all day today baking bajillions of pies and custards and cakes and sweets — as is my usual M.O. on the day before Thanksgiving. I don't miss the "OMG DID I FORGET ANYTHING" feeling of it {but let's be real, I never forget anything ;)} but I DO miss the baking. And the family. And the fall weather that Oregon is no doubt bestowing on everyone lucky enough to live here. Aaah fall. I guess fall is actually rapidly coming to a close, as winter forces its way into the US!
Instead of baking pies and all-things-pumpkin, I'm here eating noodles and all things SESAME OIL. Yes, we're back on the toasted sesame oil train! Beware! We never actually got off of that train, but sometimes I distract you with mashed potatoes and other non-sesame oil recipes. I'm not sure why we could anything without toasted sesame oil, honestly, so ... I'm pretty much the train conductor. I'm ending this metaphor before we get too far. Moving on!
These noodles are s.o. a.w.e.s.o.m.e. Like that punctuation? Yeah. Yeah. Really though: egg noodles are distinctively chewy and satisfying. Cook them for a little bit, and then FRY THEM IN OIL: You cannot lose. You really cannot. PLUS they're pretty much smothered in all things saucy — in the most amazingly flavorful way. I wanted a kicker of a garlic dish, which of course goes with soy, hoisin, honey, and — you guessed it — toasted sesame oil. You could add in some ginger if you wanted, and then you'd pretty much have these noodles. Well, not really. But these sauces do have some common ancestors. THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT! They're really awesome ancestors. Like Mulan's ancestors. Anyone? Am I the only one who still loves that movie? I may or may not have re-watched that sometime in the last six months... Mostly just for the chance to sing along. TO DEFEAT... THE HUNNNNNS! Anyone?
Let's talk about technique for a second. You're frying these noodles basically like a pancake. Lay 'em out in a big flat disc, and let one side crisp up in the oil. IT'S AMAZING. Then you flip, as best you can, and get the other side. THEN you add the sauce, keeping the heat decently high, and let it caramelize and accost the noodles for a seriously bomb finish. If you're thinking "Why would I want to eat crispy bornw noodles?" Just trust me. They're really, really great. You're adding a new textural experience to your pasta eating! I was tempted to leave the veggies completely out of this, to really go for a PASTA experience... but I can't make something and NOT put veggies in it! (Don't hold me to that. I have something in the pipes that might not have any veggies... Oopsies!).
With that, enjoy this absolutely non-Thanksgiving (or non-traditional THANKSGIVING) dish: Garlic Sesame Crispy Pan Fried Noodles! Enjoy!
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Garlic Sesame Crispy Pan Fried Noodles
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 1x
Ingredients
- 12 oz. Chinese Egg Noodles
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 4 lage garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3 tsp cooking oil (could be more toasted sesame, if you want, or other neutral cooking oil)
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
- 2 green onions, chopped into ¼" segments
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for about 3 minutes (if dried noodles — if you have fresh noodles, only cook for 1 minute).
- While the noodles are cooking, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, hoisin, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix well, set aside.
- When the noodles are done, drain. Heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the noodles. Spread them into as flat of a shape as you can, without smooshing them.
- Let the noodles cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the underside is golden-brown and crispy. Flip with a spatula, add another tablespoon of oil, and continue cooking. At this point, add the sliced bell pepper to the top of the noodles, just to start steaming and softening.
- After 4 minutes, or when both sides of the noodles are crispy, add the final tablespoon of oil along with the sauce you mixed up. Toss and mix the entire pan, coating the noodles with the sauce. Cook for another two minutes or so, letting the peppers soften and the sauce caramelize.
- Remove from heat, and serve topped with bean sprouts, green onions, and sesame seeds.
Howie says
This looks pretty awesome! You convinced me, I think finally I'll have to get a bottle of sesame oil. It just seems to be too important for Asian dishes.
Mary says
YES, HOWIE!! You're making the right choice. Sesame oil will blow your mind — GET READY! Enjoy!
Laura Hoffman says
Nom. Making.
Hope you had a good Thanksgiving!
Mary says
Thanks, Laura — I hope you did, too!
Laura says
It always takes me awhile to make the recipes I save. This didn't work very well for me tonight. It seemed like a lot of noodles ... and they started burning within a minute in my wok. I took the unburned ones in a skillet with lots more oil, and that seemed to sort of work, but still lots of noodles - no idea how you flipped 12oz of noodles! The sauce was very good though! Any tips or ideas of what I did wrong?
Mary says
I'll double check my noodle amounts — maybe I was off!! As for the flipping, it was definitely unwieldy, but I used to long spatulas (actually, one long spatula and one long wooden spoon) and just clumsily flipped them by wedging both utensils under from the same side. Sorry it was a bust for you!! I'll make sure my noodle measurements are correct... Thanks for the comment, Laura! Happy New Year!
Meg @ Noming thru Life says
You can't go wrong with pan fried noodles! YUM!!
Mary says
AMEN! Thanks, Meg!
plasterer bristol says
Yummy these sound awesome.! thanks for sharing.
Simon
Lindsay says
This is pretty good. I agree with the person who said it's too many noodles though! I had to spread between two pans, and double the sauce. I also added some ground chicken which made it really good!
My Recs: either do 6 oz noodles with recommended sauce amounts in recipe, or do 12 oz noodles and double sauce.
Mary says
Thanks for the tips, Lindsay! I'll have to go back and make this again — sounds like it could use an update!! xoxo