My VIETNAMESE GARLIC NOODLES Recipe...

When I went to Than Long Restaurant in San Francisco a number of years ago, I ordered the garlic noodles. They were so buttery, oily rich and garlicky. From then on... I would always make it a point to go and have their garlic noodles when I am in the West Coast. I just loved their garlic noodles.. I stopped looking at the menu after my second  time, all I order is the garlic noodles and their roasted cracked  dungeness crab... It is so GOOD ... and I never get tired of it....

So, I spent some time in the kitchen the other day, trying to perfect MY version of Crustacean's garlic noodles. I slowly added the seasonings little by little, trying to get as close to the original taste as possible. I think my garlic noodle recipe is as good as they get to the one I had at Crustacean.

Here is my version of the Garlic Noodles of Crustacean

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh noodles ( you can also  use spaghetti )
1 tbsp. rice wine
1/2 tbsp. Maggi seasoning
1 tbsp. Nuoc Nam ( Vietnamese or Thai ) fish sauce
1/2 stick of unsalted butter ( anchor )
1 1/2 tbsp. mashed garlic ( with their skin on )
chopped parsley for garnish


Method:

Rinse the noodles with cold water and set aside.

Bring water in a large pot to a boil, add noodles, and a dash of salt , lower heat to a simmer and cook until tender ( go beyond normal, chewy al dente). Ladle out and reserve 1/2 cup of the slightly thick cooking liquid. Drain noodles but do not flush it with water.

With the 1/2 cup of noodle liquid, return to the stove and simmer. Add a splash of rice wine, several dashes of Maggi seasoning sauce and fish sauce.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add 1/2 stick of unsalted butter. Once it has melted, add the garlic. Cook stirring frequently for 1 - 2 minutes, until softened and just about to turn color. Do not let the garlic burn. You want the garlic to sweat and release all the flavor into the butter. Once the garlic is soft, add the Maggi-rice wine-fish sauce mixture into your garlic butter and continue to simmer and the liquid is reduced. Taste test and season with salt and sugar as needed.

Turn off the heat  -- but keep the pan on the stove.  Toss in the noodles right in the sauce pan, and coat the noodles with the liquid....It is best that you use tongs when you toss the noodles in the liquid. Stir the noodles until the sauce clings to the noodles and there is no more liquid visible in the skillet.

You can also add in more fresh garlic if you want a really intense garlic flavor. You can add more butter to add a final rich note. Serve at once.




ps.   I am still trying to figure out  how to make the roasted dungeness crab... as soon as I get it ... I will post it here..... so WATCH OUT FOR IT!!


HAPPY  EATING !!!!    CIAO!