Bold and tasty Chilli garlic noodles are perfectly spicy, flavorful, and easy to make in under 30 minutes. Here you’ll find step-by-step instructions with photos to make this delicious and vegan-friendly stir fried recipe of garlic noodles for a satisfying lunch or dinner dish.
About Chilli Garlic Noodles
This Asian Chinese-style garlic noodles recipe includes noodles cooked with dry red chilies and red chili sauce for a vibrant, lightly spicy dish.
While there are many ways to make chilli garlic noodles, they are typically prepared with only a couple handfuls of simple pantry staples.
It’s also a quick recipe – cook time is just 10 minutes! So this dish is perfect for a casual lunch or fast and tasty dinner.
I have not added any vegetables or edible mushrooms here apart from the aromatics like spring onions and garlic.
Feel free to make the dish more heartier and colorful by adding sturdy vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, cabbage, baby corn, green beans, bok choy, napa cabbage and mushrooms like button mushrooms, cremini, oyster or shiitake.
My version of a classic chilli garlic noodles recipe features bold aromatics, like red chilies and soy sauce. Cooked noodles are quickly stir-fried with the other ingredients in one skillet or wok.
The result is a simple but flavorful noodle dish that pairs great with saucy mains such as Chili Mushrooms, Chili Paneer/tofu, or Veg Manchurian.
How to make Chilli Garlic Noodles
Cook Noodles
1. In a pan or wok heat 3.5 to 4 cups of water.
2. When the water comes to a boil, add 150 grams noodles. If using individually packaged noodles you need 2 packages each of 75 grams noodles.
This recipe is easily adaptable to any kind of noodles. So feel free to use up what you have. I have used instant noodles from a Thai brand.
Instant noodles, whole wheat noodles, ramen noodles, udon noodles, soba noodles, hakka noodles, chow mein noodles – all work well. Simply remember to cook the noodles according to the package instructions.
3. Cook the noodles per the instructions on the pack or until they are al dente.
4. Drain them in a colander and quickly rinse with water. Rinsing with water stops the cooking process.
5. Strain them well and set aside.
6. Meanwhile, when the noodles are cooking you can prep the other ingredients.
- Finely chop 5 to 6 large garlic (about 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic)
- Chop 1 medium spring onion/scallion (or about ⅓ cup spring onion whites). Also chop the spring onion greens and set aside.
- Finely chop 1 small stick of celery (about 2 teaspoons of finely chopped celery).
- Also break or halve 2 to 3 dry red chilies (or chop 1 to 2 fresh red or green chillies). Remove the seeds of dry red chillies.
Set everything aside.
Making Garlic Noodles
7. Heat 3 tablespoons of sesame oil in a wok or kadai. Keep the heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic and the halved or broken dry red chillies.
Stir fry for a few seconds. There’s no need to brown the garlic.
Note that instead of sesame oil, you can use toasted sesame oil or any neutral flavored oil.
8. Then add the chopped spring onion whites. Reserve the greens for garnish.
9. Add chopped celery. Celery is optional and can be skipped. But it really adds a lovely bit of flavor and crunch, so use it if you’ve got it!
10. Stir fry over medium heat until the onions turn translucent.
11. Then add the sauces and seasonings one by one:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (naturally brewed)
- 2 teaspoons of spicy red chili sauce or red chilli paste.
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or red wine vinegar, or ½ teaspoon white vinegar.
Note: You can use green chilli sauce if you prefer, but the chilli garlic noodles dish will have a different taste. If you use a sweet tasting chilli sauce, the noodles will have a sweet taste.
12. Stir well as you stir fry the ingredients.
13. Add ¼ to ½ sugar and salt as required. There’s no need to add much salt as the sauces are already quite salty. Stir again.
14. Then add the cooked and drained noodles.
15. Mix and stir on medium heat, coating the noodles in the sauce. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed. You can add black or white pepper as well, if you like.
16. Lastly, add the chopped spring onions greens. You can even add dried red chili flakes on top for a extra kick of spice.
17. Mix and serve chilli garlic noodles accompanied hot with your choice of saucy main or side dish. If you prefer, you can sprinkle some sesame seeds or fried onions while serving.
FAQs
Feel free to add just about any other sturdy vegetables you like to the dish. Chop up some bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, broccoli or other vegetable and add to the hot skillet (before the noodles) while you stir fry.
I kept the heat to a moderate in my recipe, because it is a lot easier to add spiciness than it is to make a dish more mild. Add spice to the dish by adding more red chili sauce to taste.
The noodles taste best when hot and fresh. However, you can keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Just note that the noodles will likely get a bit mushy when reheated on the stovetop or in a microwave.
More Noodle Dishes To Try!
Indo Chinese Recipes
Indo Chinese Recipes
Indo Chinese Recipes
Indo Chinese Recipes
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.
Chilli Garlic Noodles | Asian Garlic Noodles
Ingredients
For cooking noodles
- 150 grams noodles or 2 noodle packets each of 75 grams
- 3.5 to 4 cups water
Other ingredients
- 3 tablespoon sesame oil or toasted sesame oil or any neutral oil
- 2 to 3 dry red chilies broken and deseeded, swap with 1 to 2 fresh red chilies or green chilies that have been sliced
- ⅓ cup spring onion whites – chopped or ⅓ cup finely chopped onions or shallots
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic or 5 to 6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped celery – optional
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (naturally brewed), add as required
- 2 teaspoon red chili sauce or red chili paste, add as required
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or rice wine or ½ teaspoon white vinegar
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon sugar add as required and per taste – optional
- 2 to 3 tablespoon chopped spring onion greens
- salt as required
Instructions
Cooking Noodles
- In a pan or wok heat water until it comes to a boil
- Add the noodles and stir. Cook noodles as per the instructions on the pack or till they are al dente.
- Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse with water. Rinsing with water stops the cooking process. Strain them well and set aside.
- When the noodles are cooking, you can prep the other ingredients – finely chop garlic cloves, spring onion, and celery. Also break or halve the chilies and remove the seeds. Set aside.
Making garlic noodles
- Heat sesame oil in a wok or kadai. Keep the heat to medium and add the finely chopped garlic and the dry red chilies. Stir fry for a few seconds. No need to brown the garlic.
- Then add the chopped spring onions and celery. Celery is optional and if you do not have then omit adding it.
- Stir fry on a medium heat till the onions turn translucent and soften.
- Then add the sauces one by one – soy sauce, red chili sauce or red chili paste. Also add rice vinegar (swap with rice wine or white vinegar). Stir well.
- Add salt according to taste and sugar. Add less salt as the sauces already have salt in them. Stir and mix again.
- Now add the cooked noodles.On a medium heat, mix and stir so that the sauce coats the noodles very well. Do a taste test. Add more salt or the sauces as required.
- You can decrease or increase the quantity of the sauces as per your taste. You can also add black pepper or white pepper. Switch off the heat.
- Finally add the spring onions greens and stir to combine.
- Serve chilli garlic noodles accompanied with veg manchurian, mushroom manchurian, cauliflower manchurian or sweet and sour vegetable.
- While serving garlic noodles you can also sprinkle some red chili flakes on the noodles for an extra kick of heat.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Chilli Garlic Noodles post from the archives (November 2015) has been republished and updated on 26 September 2021.
