Garlic Noodles

Yield: 2 large or 3 smaller portions

Ingredients

Noodles

• 8 oz dried pappardelle or other wide/thick noodle

• Salt for boiling water

Garlic chili oil sauce

• 3 tbsp extra‑virgin olive oil

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 6–8 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed (go heavy)

• 2–3 tbsp habaNANO chili oil (start lower, add to taste)

• 1–2 tbsp pasta cooking water, as needed (for creamier, clingy sauce)

• 1–2 tsp soy sauce or fish sauce (optional, for umami depth)

• 1 pinch sugar (optional, just to round the heat)

• Salt to taste

• Black pepper to taste

To finish

• Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (small handful)

• Optional: grated Parmesan (fusion but very good with garlic noodles)

Flavor notes and tips

• Heat control: Your base oil is ultra‑hot; starting at 2 tbsp will already give serious burn, so for non–pepper‑heads serve them a portion tossed with less sauce and let them add more at the table.

• Texture: Wide noodles like pappardelle are perfect because they carry a glossy, clingy sauce when you use a bit of pasta water to emulsify, similar to classic garlic noodles techniques.

• Garlic style: Crushing garlic (garlic press or mortar) releases more juice, which amplifies that garlicky punch in the sauce.

Optional add‑ins for future versions

• Shrimp or crab: Sear in the pan first with neutral oil, then build your garlic butter and habaNANO on top of the fond.

• Veg: Quickly blister some broccolini, bok choy, or mushrooms in the same pan before making the sauce.

• Extra Viet umami: A 1:1 mix of fish sauce and oyster sauce (1 tsp each) gives more “SF garlic noodle” vibes while still letting habaNANO shine.