Carole Food.

These creamy garlic noodles are the perfect thing to make when you’re feeling a bit lazy but don’t want to get takeout. They’re ready in 10 minutes and use mostly store cupboard ingredients. This is heavily inspired by the classic Chinese dish (You Po Mian) and the role of oil in the dish really brings out the aromatic flavour of the garlic and spring onion. If you haven’t tried making noodles like this before, I would definitely recommend it! 

Why you’ll love this dish

• Quick - this dish is unbelievably quick, it’s ready in 10 minutes! It’s probably one of the quickest recipes I know, so I return to this meal regularly. 
• Store cupboard - it's mainly store cupboard ingredients in this meal! The only thing that’s from the fridge is spring onions, and if you’re like me, you’ll often have a bunch (or a few scraggly ones) in the vegetable drawer. 

What ingredients do you need for this dish (includes possible substitutions)? 

Noodles: I used instant ramen noodles here, but use whatever you want! 

Vegetable/sunflower oil: I’ve recommended these oils because they have a high smoke point and are neutral in taste. 

Garlic: this meal has three garlic cloves in it, so it’s pretty garlicky! Feel free to add less (or more).

Spring onion: the garlic and spring onion here really provides the dish with the characteristic aromatic flavour!

Chilli flakes: if you like a bit of heat, add chilli flakes! Otherwise, these can be left out. 

Light soy and dark soy: both are essential in this dish. Light soy gives the seasoning whilst dark soy provides the colour and a touch of sweetness.

White wine vinegar: traditionally Chinese black vinegar is used in this but I only had white wine vinegar and it worked very well.

Tahini: provides the creaminess to the dish, but can be swapped with other nut butters. 

Pinch of sugar: this is optional (but recommended).

What to serve this with? 

These noodles will work perfectly with any type of protein and vegetable you want! But they’re delicious enough as is.

Instructions 

Prepare the aromatics and spices 

Add garlic, spring onion, chilli flakes and a pinch sugar (optional) into a medium sized bowl. 

Heat the oil 

In a small saucepan over a high heat, heat the oil until it is sizzling hot (i.e. if you place a chopstick in, the oil will sizzle). 

Mix all the ingredients together 

Pour the hot oil over the garlic mixture and stir to combine well. Then pour in the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white wine vinegar and tahini. Stir to combine again. Finally add the cooked noodles and do one final stir so the noodles are fully coated in the sauce. And that’s it! 

FAQ 

What’s the best way to store this dish? 

These are best served straight away but if you have leftovers, place in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Then reheat either in the microwave or on the hob. 

Can this be frozen?

This isn’t very suitable for freezing! 

If you’re looking for another noodle dish, be sure to try out these recipes:

• 10-Minute Tomato Noodles
• Cumin Lamb Noodles