Vietnamese Garlic Noodles- “Mi Xao Toi” Recipe

Vietnamese garlic noodles were first introduced in 1972 at Thanh Long restaurant in San Francisco and has become a staple on most Vietnamese-American menus and is also in home rotations for many of us home chefs.

This easy dish consists of buttery noodles (usually Shanghai or chow mein but in a pinch I’ll use spaghetti noodles, shhhh don’t tell anyone), lots of garlic, and a savory brown sauce.

I’ve made these dozens of times and finally have the perfect recipe and secret to making this bowl of amazingness.

So what’s the secret to its addicting umami bomb flavor? For me, it’s the perfectly balanced combination of oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar and…. drumroll please…. Garlic powder and Maggi seasoning (Maggi seasoning takes these noodles from good to amazing crack-like noodles).

With that said, any excess of any one of those ingredients can easily over power this fairly simple dish.

*Use Chow Mein or Shanghai noodles for best results- using asian noodles will make it more authentic tasting, but in a pinch spaghetti noodles will work too (it won’t taste 100% authentic but it’ll be a little more fusion, but very tasty still).

* Maggi seasoning is a flavor enhancer used in Asian cooking. This along with fish sauce adds that great umami flavor!

For Tom Rim recipe, click below link:

VIETNAMESE GARLIC NOODLES RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS

1/2- 3/4 lb chow mein noodles (or Shanghai noodles, OR in a pinch you can use spaghetti or bucatini noodles)

1 tsp salt
3-4 quarts water (reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water)

1.5 tbs cooking oil (I used tea seed oil)
6 to 8 cloves garlic (this is about 2 tbs)
5 tbsp unsalted butter

GARLIC SAUCE

2 tbsp oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce

1 tsp fish sauce (I used Red Boat Fishsauce)

2 tsp Maggi

1 tbs light soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 cup of scallions (sliced thinly, split into two portions)

1/4 cup grated parmesan (or to taste if you want more)

GARNISH

Grated or powder parmesan

Scallions (other half reserved)

Sriracha

Toasted white sesame seeds

NOODLE PREP

Add water & just a pinch of salt to a large pot (you don’t need to over salt because we’ll be adding lots of umami in the noodles) and cook pasta following the directions of the package (shave off about 3 min from the cooking time from package directions). Strain and reserve about 2 cups of the pasta poaching water.

PREPARATION

1. Chop garlic and scallions and set aside.

2. Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

3. In a large skillet add 1-1.5 tbs oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pan) and add garlic over med-high heat. Sauté garlic over medium heat for until garlic turns fragrant and the edges start to brown (about 1 or so).

4. Reduce heat to medium and add all sauce ingredients plus 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water and cook down a few minutes until it reduces and thickens up some. Then add butter and stir until it gets thickened and smooth.

5. Then add the noodles. (If needed: ladle in a little extra pasta water) to cook distribute the sauce more). Mix, fold, and toss your noodles into your garlic butter sauce for a few minutes to coat and add some scallions.

7. Add 1 tsp or two of sesame oil (optional), your grated parmesan (a little pasta water to coat if needed). Turn off heat.

8. Garnish and season with a little coarse black pepper, more parmesan, scallions, sriracha (optional) & sesame seeds.