A few weeks ago, upon exiting Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street website, a pop-up email capture caught my attention: If I subscribed, I would get “12 recipes That [Would] Change The Way I Cook.”
What was there to lose? I subscribed, downloaded my PDF, began reading, and soon came across an article titled “Quick and Easy Sichuan Noodles” with a stunning photo captioned: “Scallions, sesame oil and seeds, plus pantry staples, flavor this simple, addictively good noodle dish.”
Incredibly, I had everything on hand to make the dish, which came together as quickly as promised. The first time I made it, I used fresh Chinese noodles that I had on hand, which worked well but I’ve since made the recipe with dried Japanese udon noodles, Milk Street’s recommendation, which worked even better.
The recipe, I learned, was inspired by Fuchsia Dunlop’s “emergency midnight noodles” from her cookbook Every Grain of Rice. Fuchsia makes the noodles with chili oil, which Milk Street has you make from scratch by heating grapeseed oil with red pepper flakes (and sesame seeds). It takes just a few minutes.
To bulk it up a bit, I’ve added thinly shredded cabbage and carrots, which I drain the hot noodles over to help soften them. I like the inclusion of vegetables, and though some sort protein would be a nice addition, too, I haven’t been missing it. Milk Street tops each serving with a fried egg, which they fry in the same skillet used to make the infused oil. Yum.
Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients. Milk Street recommends dried Japanese udon noodles for this dish.
For the sauce, you’ll need: soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, pepper flakes, sesame seeds, brown sugar and grapeseed oil or other neutral oil.
If you’re adding vegetables, prep them before you boil the noodles. I use my food processor to shred the carrots and my knife to slice the cabbage. The scallions need to be sliced and the whites and greens separated.
Boil the noodles in salted water (left), while you infuse the grapeseed oil with chilies and sesame seeds (right).
Adding the scallion whites to the sauce, heat now turned off.
Finish the sauce by stirring in the mix of soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and rice vinegar.
When the noodles have boiled…
… drain them over the vegetables in a colander.
Careful of the curious kitty!
Transfer vegetables and noodles to bowl and add the scallion greens.
Add the sauce.
Toss.
Eat.
These are also really delicious with the fresh udon noodles. I used the Nasoya brand here. Really yummy. No carrots in this version.
Chinese Noodles with Chilies and Scallions
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4
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Adapted from Milk Street (If you subscribe to their newsletter, you’ll get this recipe along with this curried lentil recipe and 10 other enticing ones for free.)
I’ve made a few changes:
- I add vegetables: cabbage and carrots. If you wish to add vegetables, too, be sure to choose vegetables that will soften under the heat of boiling water poured over them. Finely chopping or shredding the vegetables will help. I think Romaine lettuce would work nicely here, too.
- I use 2 tablespoons of sugar, and I find it to be sweet enough, but use the full 3 if you wish.
- I have yet to top each serving with a fried egg, but if you wish to do so, fry it directly in the skillet you use to infuse the oil with the chilies, sesame seeds, and scallions.
Next time, I may try infusing the grapeseed oil with crushed Sichuan peppercorns. I love the numbing mala sensation. I’ll keep you posted.
Ingredients
- kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar (I use 2; original recipe calls for 3)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
- 5 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1 to 1¼ teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 12 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced on the bias, reserved separately
- 1 small cabbage, finely sliced, optional
- 1 to 2 large carrots, grated using the shredder attachment of a food processor, optional
- 12 ounces dried udon noodles, lo mein or spaghetti or fresh udon noodles (fresh udon, such as the Nasoya brand, are my favorite)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water (I use 1 tablespoon kosher salt) to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and sesame oil.
- In a 12-inch skillet over medium, heat the grapeseed oil, sesame seeds and pepper flakes (use 1 teaspoon or less if you are sensitive to heat) until the pepper flakes are fragrant and the seeds begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in the scallion whites, then add the soy sauce mixture. Set aside.
- If you haven’t prepped the vegetables, do so now: Finely slice the cabbage. Shred the carrots in a food processor using the shedder attachment. Place them in a large colander in the sink.
- Cook the noodles until al dente—my dried Udon noodles take 7 minutes, but be sure to check the package of the noodles you are using—then drain the noodles directly over the vegetables in the colander.
- Transfer the noodles and vegetables to a large serving bowl. Add the scallion greens. Bring the sauce in the skillet on the stovetop just up to a simmer (if it has cooled down), then pour over the noodles and vegetables. Toss to combine. Serve.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Boil, Sauté
- Cuisine: Chinese
Keywords: sichuan, noodles, chinese, cabbage
Stephanie says
Bon Appétit has a very similar recipe that adds 1/4 cup or so tahini and is delicious! This looks perfect for the snow storm we will be getting! Plus, I am just loving cabbage these days. Stay warm!
alexandra says
ooooh yum! Tahini sounds amazing. And you too! Yay for snow.
Rochelle says
Would rice noodles work?
alexandra says
I would imagine — just make sure they don’t stick together while they are cooking… use chopsticks to loosen them up.
Jill says
I just made this tonight…i made some adjustments based on what i had but figured this one a recipe that would lend itself to some flexibility…used wonton noodles from the asian market i had in the back of my freezer…purple cabbage and carrots. Instead of the fried egg i had a few mushrooms so fried those in the empty pan til super crispy for a nice crunch. Really good, will make again with green cabbage (the purple cabbage turned the dish, well, purple 🙂 )
★★★★★
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Jill! Wonton noodles sound soooo good as do mushrooms.
Rochelle says
Very good recipe! The rice noodles worked great. That is all I had on hand but will try the udon next time. I threw in green beans and broccoli which I steamed ahead so they would be soft enough. So many different veggies you can add to this. Husband gave it two thumbs up. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Yay! So happy to hear this. If you can find the fresh Nasoya noodles (usually in the produce section), I highly recommend!
Aaryn Degn Silva says
I made this tonight because I had everything on hand. It was delicious! My 10-year-old gave it 5 stars. Thank you for another delicious recipe. We’ll definitely be adding this to the rotation.
★★★★★
alexandra says
Woohoo! So happy to hear this Aaryn!
Becky says
Wow! This was so good!! The non-vegans in the house are it with a fried egg and the vegans has eggy fried tofu. Putting this on rotation for sure!
alexandra says
Yay! So happy to hear this! I love how this one can be adapted in so many ways.
Andrea says
I doubled the recipe but only used 1 teaspoon of chili flakes because I had littles for dinner. I also added some shredded turkey I had in the freezer. It had a pleasant warmth and the adults could just add siraccha. I think I might try fresh yakisoba Noddles next time! Ao yummy!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Yum! This all sounds so good. I’ve never tried fresh yakisoba … where do you find those?
Michelle Flook says
This was excellent!!!!!!!!! My udon package had 16 oz so i just scaled everything up a tad to use it all in one go. I didn’t have a ton of cabbage and only used one carrot, next time will add more veggies. Love the idea of adding a little bit of tahini to make it kinda creamy. Thank you!!!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Wonderful to hear this, Michelle! I love loading this one with veggies, too.
Mariah says
Made with shredded carrots and Napa cabbage and the egg on top. It was perfect on a cold winters night, and so very tasty.
★★★★★
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Mariah! I absolutely love this one, too.
sillygirl says
What is up with the price of green onions lately? A 2 lb. bag was $12+ – I buy them when they are $2.99! Glad I got a deal on red onions – I’ll use them instead.
alexandra says
Wow! That’s shockingly high. I have not seen this hike. The best price I find is at the Asian market.
Becky Ross says
I made it one evening and it was an instant hit. I added the small amount of leftovers to chicken broth for a delicious lunch the next day. I think I actually prefer it as a soup…and it will be repeated.
★★★★★
alexandra says
Wow so interesting! I love this idea! So smart.
manisha says
made this with wonton noodles since that’s all i had at home, and added some pan fried tofu to round out the meal. what an amazingly delicious meal! draining the noodles over the cabbage to wilt it – genius! looking forward to trying this out with udon soon!
★★★★★
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Manisha! Love the idea of adding pan-fried tofu.
claire says
This recipe was really delicious and easy to make. I had half a bag of coleslaw mix leftover so I used that instead of chopping up veggies…could have definitely used the whole bag and it would have been fine. Used wide lo mein noodles. The leftovers were surprisingly good too! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Calire!
Sara says
I just made this for lunch and it really was FAST and really really tasty. I grated the carrots by hand to save cleanup and used soba noodles because it’s what I had. I also fried up some tofu in the leftover chili oil in the skillet to make it a full meal. This is definitely a keeper!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Wonderful to hear this Sara!
Kim says
Loved this super easy recipe! I added some bean sprouts in addition to the carrots and cabbage. Can’t wait to have leftovers tonight for dinner. YUM!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Ohhh bean sprouts sound good! Love it.
Sharon says
This is such a clever, easy recipe with tasty results. I felt like I had a terribly big pile of vegetables to blanch with just a pour of boiling water so I tipped the whole mess into the boiling pot the moment I thought the noodles were done and then immediately drained it all. The veg were still crunchy and nice but the results were nice and even. I added cilantro because it was there in the fridge. I did the fried egg and that was great too.
★★★★★
alexandra says
Wonderful to hear this, Sharon!
Amina Bradley says
Very very tasty! Made it for lunch, with fried eggs and all, my family REALLY loved it! Easy and fun to make, looks very pretty, and I feel like such a “good mommy” – the recipe is made of healthy ingredients. Thank you so much for yet another wonderful meal!
★★★★★
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Amina!
Ann says
I cut the recipe in half and it came out great. I loved the ease in preparation and the taste was outstanding. Thank you for sharing.
Susan says
Love that Sassafras has taken an interest in cooking at such a young age
★★★★★
alexandra says
🙂 🙂 🙂 She’s such a good kitty.
Hannah says
This came out great, and looked beautiful (with the scallions and some extra sesame seeds sprinkled on top)! For me, as not a big vinegar fan, it was a tad bit too vinegary for my taste. Still good, but next time I will use half the amount of rice vinegar and it will be perfect for me! I had a feeling that might be the case, but I always like to try the recipe as written first and then make adjustments from there. Just wanted to share in case other vinegar-dislikers (i.e. not a fan of vinaigrette salad dressings, are sad when things in restaurants come unexpectedly drizzled with balsamic) like me are reading!
★★★★
alexandra says
Very interesting, Hannah! Thanks for sharing. This will be helpful for others.
Joan Henchey says
A+++
Easy and delicious
Added leftover broccoli
Better than takeout!
alexandra says
Yay!! So happy to hear this 🙂 🙂 🙂
Angela M-E says
This is such a crowd pleaser! I served two children, two parents, and two grandparents without any complaints from anyone (even the 4 yo). I added some sauteed marinated tofu for added protein which was a nice addition. I used a bag of slaw mix for the veggies to make it even quicker for a weeknight meal. Next time I think I’ll use 2 bags to up the vegginess even more. This is going to be a regular in our house fo sure. Thanks for the great recipes and inspiration!
★★★★★
alexandra says
So happy to hear this!! It has become a regular in ours. The sauce — so easy and good! Everyone loves it.
Dulce says
This meal is so cozy. I followed your recipe to the letter. Next time i think I’ll add some shrimp.
★★★★★
alexandra says
Sounds delicious!
Hailey says
This recipe was a hit at my house! Perfect quick dinner after a long work day!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Wonderful to hear this, Hailey!
Lindsey says
Made this tonight Ali, it was fabulous and comforting and delicious. I made it with rice noodles as I am off gluten. And it was perfect. Thank you for nourishing my family!xx
★★★★★
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Lindsey!! But sad about gluten 🙁 🙁 🙁 How are you getting your baking fix in? You’re such an artist xoxo
SusanGL says
Hello,
Preparing to make this tonite and I have a lot of ramen noodles. I would like to sub in. Any thoughts on if I need to stick with 12 oz dried or if I should use 2 squares like your latest recipe. Thank you!
alexandra says
So sorry for the delay here! I was traveling this week, and I’m just catching up. What did you end up using? I think 2 squares sounds about right for this recipe.
Molly says
This was great! I had soba noodles and it was perfect. I agree—this seemed really fast to put together.
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Molly!