garlic butter noodles

When I chanced upon Steamy Kitchen’s Garlic Scallion Noodles, her description of them being similar to “crack in noodle form” made me bookmark the recipe immediately. Today, faced with nothing fresh in the kitchen save for a bag of carrots and a handful of herbs, seemed the perfect time to give this recipe a whirl. Wanting to make use of what I had, I substituted the scallions with some freshly chopped parsley and tossed in some julienned carrots to add a little colour. As carrots have a natural sweetness, I also lessened the amount of sugar. The garlic, butter and sugar combo is indeed surprisingly addictive and I found myself eating strand after strand until my bowl was bare – it was a good thing I made half of Jaden’s recipe as I could easily have polished the lot off! Next time I think I’ll add the suggested spring onions, and maybe some prawns and pak choy to make it a more substantial and balanced meal.

Garlic Butter Noodles
(adapted from Steamy Kitchen’s Garlic Scallion Noodle recipe)
Serves 1 (or 2 with other dishes)

100g (3 1/2 oz) fine dry egg noodles
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 tsp shiaoxing wine
1 tsp chopped parsley
1/2 carrot, julienned
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp oil
white pepper
salt

Soak noodles in cold water for 2 minutes. Drain. Soak in boiling hot water for 3 minutes. Drain, then use chopsticks or a fork to separate the strands.

While the noodles are soaking heat the oil in a small pan and lightly fry the carrots on a medium heat with a splash of wine, a sprinkle of salt and a dash of white pepper. Once softened (2-3 minutes), remove from heat and set aside.

Heat the butter in a saucepan over a medium-low flame and add the garlic, let it sizzle gently for a couple of minutes until fragrant (take care not to burn the garlic). Add brown sugar, fish sauce and oyster sauce, and stir to combine.

Pop in the drained noodles and carrots, then fry for 2 minutes, until the noodles are just cooked through. Heap into a bowl, grab a pair of chopsticks and dig in.

~ by gourmettraveller on January 21, 2010.