These tasty noodles might be simple but I make them a LOT! Perfect for all those times you’re scrambling for a quick side dish for Asian foods and want something more interesting than plain rice. Flavoured enough to devour as-is, neutral enough to serve alongside main dishes. Supremely easy, supremely tasty – Supreme Soy Noodles!
After a 6 month hiatus to focus on my debut cookbook, I’m back with a brand new recipe! I’m easing in here with something super quick and easy, but something you’ll make over and over again…. Hope you love it as much as I do! ~ Nagi x
Supreme Soy Noodles – the Asian noodles for everything!
My first new recipe in 6 months!!! Simple and fast, Supreme Soy Noodles are THE Asian noodles to serve with everything and anything Asian. These are fast to make and flavoured enough to eat plain, despite the absence of loads of add-ins. Yet they’re also neutral enough to partner with any mains. Well, Asian mains – like Chinese BBQ Pork, Sticky Asians Wings, Chicken or Beef Satay Skewers, Korean Pulled Pork …
But hey, if you even want them alongside your Sunday roast chicken, who am I to judge!! 😂
If you’re wondering about the rather grandiose name “Supreme Soy Noodles” I’ve given such a simple dish … well, the truth is, it is partly in jest to amuse myself. 😂 (I am easily amused). I love the colourful, superlative names Chinese restaurants often give their dishes. So here’s mine inspired by this dish, and I’m going to stand by it. Because simple it may be, but it’s got teeth! If you try it, tell me if you agree!!
What you need to make these soy noodles
The sauce for these noodles is based around soy sauce. But here’s the thing – you can’t use only soy for a good noodle sauce! Soy-only sauces are one-dimensional and bland. Instead we’re also using a handful of staple Asian sauces here to add depth and character. Ready-to-use sauces like these also minimises the list of ingredients while still delivering big on flavour!
Here’s what you need:
You can’t just use soy sauce! It’s too bland!
Soy sauces – The dominant flavour in this sauce, I’m using a combination of dark and light soy sauce here. Together they deliver the flavour and colour I am aiming for. Dark soy sauce has a more intense flavour and stains the noodles a beautiful mahogany colour you can see in the photo below. The light soy sauce adds extra savour without too much colour so the sauce doesn’t get too dark. See recipe notes for how to switch these out, and more on different soy sauces here!
Oyster sauce – Sweet, salty, thick and pungent, oyster sauce is one of the secret ingredients in this recipe. Oyster sauce punches high above its weight when it comes to adding incomparable complexity, flavour and umami all at once to any dish you add a few dashes of the stuff to. A staple sauce in Chinese and South-east Asian cooking, it’s made from oyster extract which gives it that intensely savoury flavour. However it doesn’t tasty oyster-y (is that a word??) or fishy at all. See recipe notes for substitutes.
Mirin – This is a sweet Japanese cooking wine that is the other secret ingredient that brings flavour and nuance to this dish. Typically in Chinese recipes you’d see Chinese cooking wine used with a touch of sugar added when needed. But today, I’m taking a shortcut by using mirin which already has sugar in it. One less ingredient needed! Non-alcoholic substitute – Use more oyster sauce.
Sesame oil – Toasted (ie brown-hued) as opposed to un-toasted (yellow-hued, with less sesame flavour). Here in Australia, toasted sesame oil is the norm. It’s actually hard to find un-toasted. Note the sesame oil is added to the sauce and not used for as frying fat, because it loses flavour the longer it’s cooked.
Green onion – Serving dual functions here. One, as an aromatic flavour base when we sauté the white part with the garlic to flavour the oil. Later, the green parts are used to add a touch of colour and bite throughout the noodles.
Garlic – You’ll be hard pressed to find a recipe on this website that doesn’t include garlic (well, maybe a cake recipe or two. 😂)
Noodles – Use any noodles you want – white or yellow, thick or thin, dried or fresh. I used fresh white noodles (from the fridge section of my shop) which I generally prefer over dried noodles. I like the texture better, it’s chewier and also has better flavour. Having said that, this recipe will work just fine with dried noodles too. Or even spaghetti. Yes, there, I said it! It sounds so wrong, but dried spaghetti is just flour and water, same as many dried noodles. So once it’s tossed with the sauce, you really can’t tell the difference!!
How to make Supreme Soy Noodles
It’s a 4-minute cook. There should be more recipes in the world like this! 😂
Make sure you have all the ingredients chopped and ready to go because once you start cooking, things move quickly! These noodles only take 3 minutes!
Sauce – Mix the sauce.
Green onion – Cut up the green onion, separating the darker green part from the firmer white and pale green parts. We’re going to cook the white part first as they take longer to cook. The green part only needs to be tossed in at the very end as it wilts in seconds.
Cook noodles per the packet directions. Some tips:
– Cook noodles just before you start stir frying. Don’t leave cooked, drained noodles lying around before stir frying as it makes them more prone to breaking or sticking to each other.
– Use plenty of boiling water so the noodles cook evenly and loosen.
– Rinse the noodles briefly after draining so they don’t end up sticking together in a gluey block.Sauté aromatics – Using either a wok or large non-stick pan over high heat, heat the oil until very hot. Then we start by cooking the white and pale green part of the green onion for around 20 seconds to give them a head start as well as flavouring the oil. Then, toss the garlic in and cook for around 10 seconds just until lightly golden. Don’t let the garlic burn – it goes bitter!
Noodles and sauce – Add the noodles and sauce then toss for around 1 1/2 minutes until all the noodles are evenly coated in the sauce and you start to see some of the noodles caramelising a bit. It might take a bit longer depending on the strength of your stove.
Don’t skip the caramelisation step! It adds such great flavour to the noodles!
Green onion – Lastly, add the green part of the green onions then toss for 30 seconds just until wilted. That’s it, you’re done! Ready to serve!
To serve, either transfer all the noodles into a large serving dish and let everyone serve themselves, or divide between individual serving plates.
Garnishes – I don’t use any garnishes here so it can be served as a side dish. But if you want to pretty it up, a sprinkle of finely sliced green onion or sesame seeds (or both!) wouldn’t go astray.
What to serve with these Asian noodles
I originally created these noodles to round out a full meal consisting of Chinese dumplings (Potstickers) plus a side of steamed Asian Greens with Oyster Sauce, with Chinese corn soup to start (I skipped the chicken in the soup).
Dumplings and noodles for dinner!
But as I’ve already mentioned too many times above (😂), the beauty of these Asian noodles is they are multipurpose. They are plain enough to serve alongside any full flavoured Asian mains – like Chinese BBQ Pork (Char Siu) – as a carby filler. But they’re also well-flavoured enough to eat on their own as a fast and simple meal. And boy have I inhaled many bowls of these noodles!! Here are some suggestions for other mains to serve with these:
Mains to serve with these noodles
“Can I add more vegetables and proteins?”
For add-ins like protein and vegetables, this recipe will work with a small amount of extras like some shredded carrot. However you don’t want to add too much bulk else it will dilute the flavour. I’d actually recommend using my Lo Mein noodles recipe instead if you want a more complete noodle dish. It has a similar-tasting sauce but is purpose-built specifically for a larger volume of add-ins (by way of more sauce thickened with cornflour/cornstarch so it coats the veg etc).
~~~~~~
And there you have it! The first new recipe I’ve put up for over 6 months, I hope you enjoy it! I plan to publish a new recipe each week for the foreseeable future while I wrap up the cookbook (catch up on updates here!) and also kick off some exciting new changes happening in the world of RecipeTin … stay tuned!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Supreme Soy Noodles
Ingredients
- 500 g / 1 lb fresh yellow or white noodles , medium thickness (see Note 1)
- 2 tbsp oil (vegetable, canola, or peanut)
- 8 green onions , ends trimmed, cut into 7cm / 2.5” lengths, white parts separated from green parts
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
Soy-sauce noodle sauce:
- 2 tsp sesame oil (toasted sesame oil)
- 2 tsp light soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp mirin (Note 4 for subs)
Instructions
- Mix Sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Cook noodles per packet directions (see cooking tip in Notes). Drain and give it a quick rinse under tap water to stop them sticking together as they sit.
- Sauté garlic – Heat oil in a large deep non-stick skillet or wok over high heat. Add white part of green onions, stir for 20 seconds. Add garlic and stir for 10 seconds or until light golden.
- Add noodles, sauce – Add noodles then pour over Sauce. Toss for 1 1/2 minutes. Don’t skimp on this step, the flavour is so much better when the noodles caramelise slightly. If your stove is a bit weak, you might need to go longer!
- Green onions – Add green onion and toss until just wilted, about 20 seconds. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes:
TIP: Cooking noodles Cook the noodles per the packet directions. Some require only soaking, most require boiling. For boiled noodles, start the timer when you first drop the noodles into the boiling water, not from when it comes back up to the boil. Loosen noodles as they cook with tongs or chopsticks. Rinse under cold tap water so they don’t clump into an unworkable block as they cool, and shake off excess water before using.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Just as cute as ever. ❤️ For a more comprehensive catch up on Life of Dozer, see the last cookbook update!
Dean Nairn says
Welcome back Nagi and dozer, hope you had a great break and your new book is all sorted. Deano ps missed your weekly recipes to.
Jen says
Loved, loved, loved this recipe Nagi 🙏
Thank you! Just do quick & easy. It’s what I need for my husbands working hours & he loved this recipe!! I would love to have more easy and quick recipes like this.
Thank you Nagi, just love it 👍🏼
Nagi says
There are more coming soon!! N x
Madeleine Mekhail says
So happy you and Dozer are back ! ❤️
Jools says
Hi Nagi!!! So happy to have you back. You’ve left me plenty to recipes to keep going with on your site but I really look forward to getting new ones to try! And to getting an update on what you and dozer have been up to.
😀🐶💜
Linda says
Welcome back Nagi and Dozer! We missed you!
Nagi says
Awwww!! Thanks Linda! N x
Martha says
So good to have you and Dozer back after what seems like ages. Looking forward to your weekly newsletter once more – they have been greatly missed.
Eve says
So happy you and Dozer are back .missed you ❤️
Alexandra G says
Thank goodness!!! So very glad you’re back. Really missed you, Dozer and your wonderful recipes. Also, anxiously awaiting your new cookbook. Let the games begin!!! Cheers!
Marie says
Sooo happy to see you back.
Shingi Hinton says
Hi Nagi,
I’m so happy you are back xxx
Debbie says
SO so happy to have you back. I always look forward to your recipes and to see Dozer. Welcome Back!
DebbieM says
Hi Nagi, I am a new convert; found you about 3 months ago. Since then I have made dozens of your recipes and they have all been fantastic. I made this for lunch and added sliced orange pepper and spinach and it was yum! Thank you
Nagi says
That’s great and welcome to RecipeTin Eats, Debbie! N x
Nadine says
YAY!
So happy you and dozer are back😄
Annette says
Yay! So happy to see you and Dozer!
Robin says
Welcome back Nagi and Dozer. Sure have missed both of you.
Mimi says
It’s so good to have you back! 🥳
Erin Pieters says
Quick and super easy to whip up. Saw it on Instagram and was in my bowl 10 mins later.
Nagi says
Woo hoo!!! That’s the way to go! N x
Sue Jones says
Nagi so good to have you back. I am sure your book will be fantastic as you are a great cook. Welcome back.
jan haring says
so glad to see you and to get the Dozer ‘fix’. Thank you for sharing the ‘hug’ and sharing the happiness.
Elle says
Great to hear from you and Dozer again! New diet restriction: no salt. 🙁 That eliminates many of your wonderful recipes. But I still love reading them and seeing photos. Good luck with the cookbook!
Heather says
Hi Elle, I’ve been cooking without adding salt (by choice) for many years, and your taste buds do adapt. I use a lot of home grown herbs, and spices, change recipes slightly, and I find celery to be quite a salty veggie, which can be handy in some dishes.
Elle says
Thanks very much. I need to get braver about experimenting.
Nagi says
I’m sorry to hear that Elle. Out of curiosity – how does that work? What about foods with natural sodium in them? Or do you need to eliminate everything with any level of salt in it?? Thanks for your lovely message! N x
Elle says
Thanks so much for replying, Nagi. This is for my husband due to heart issues and kidney disease. Can’t eliminate natural sodium but read all labels carefully. . No soy sauce, of course
Elle says
Thanks so much for replying, Nagi. This is for my husband due to heart issues and kidney disease. Can’t eliminate natural sodium but read all labels carefully. Look for lowest possible sodium content. No soy sauce, of course
Elle says
Thanks so much for replying, Nagi. This is for my husband due to heart issues and kidney disease. Can’t eliminate natural sodium but read all labels carefully. Look for lowest possible sodium content. No soy sauce, of course, and never add salt. Found a great roast chicken recipe without salt on website for kidney patients but most recipes are blah!