Very good Vietnamese-American garlic noodles...
I adapted this from several recipes and added some of my own ingredients (the orange juice, toasted sesame oil, and chili pepper flakes.) I brought the dish to a party that featured cracked Dungeness crab and a shrimp boil. San Franciscans are passionate about Vietnamese Garlic noodles and one restaurant famous for them, has a separate room to prepare them in order to preserve their secret recipe.
These were such a hit that most of the guests requested the recipe.
Serves 4 as a side dish
10 ounces fresh Asian egg noodles or 8 ounces dried linguine
1 tablespoon rice wine (not rice wine vinegar) or dry sherry
or dry red wine (I use red wine)
Scant 1 tablespoon Maggi Seasoning Sauce (This is available at Asian markets. If you can’t find it in your area, Braggs amino acids is a adequate substitute.)
1 ½ teaspoons oyster sauce (optional – oyster sauce is a slightly oyster-y salty molasses, you can substitute brown sugar or regular molasses)
¾ tablespoon molasses or brown sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice
¼ cup (1/2 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ tablespoon toasted sesame oil (you can use any oil if you’d like)
2 tablespoons packed fresh finely minced garlic mixed with 2 teaspoons water
¼ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes or less to taste. (optional)
1/3 cup or more chopped parsley
Salt, kosher preferred, to taste (probably won’t need more salt if you use oyster sauce and Maggi Seasoning Sauce)
If using dried noodles, boil just past the el dente point.
Mince the garlic with a sprinkling of salt into a fine mash, put the garlic into a bowl with the water and set aside.
Combine the Maggi Seasoning Sauce, the wine, and the oyster sauce into another bowl and set aside.
Melt the half stick of butter (medium-low heat) in a large pan or wok (reserve the extra tablespoon for the end of cooking)
Add the garlic and cook for one or two minutes.
Add the liquid and bring to a boil cook for two to three minutes until garlic is soft.
Remove from heat and pour into a bowl.
Add the sesame oil to the pan same pan or wok
Add the cooked noodles and sauté briefly to just coat the noodles with the sesame oil.
Add the butter sauce and combine gently and sauté for another 5 minutes or so
Remove from heat, add the tablespoon of butter and the parsley and toss gently.
Can be served hot or at room temperature
