Recipe video. Ridiculously good and ridiculously fast, here by popular demand after a sneak peek on Instagram! Chili crisp oil is the star ingredient here, adds spiciness, awesome crunch, savouriness, and a touch of sweet. Widely available these days - see Note 6.Tastes like Spicy Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles - but much faster to make. LOTS OF SUB OPTIONS because chili crisp carries so much of the flavour weight here!
Prep Time7 minutesmins
Course: Main, Noodles, Side
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: chili crisp noodles, chili noodles
Servings: 2
Calories: 503cal
Author: Nagi
Ingredients
2tbspChinese sesame paste(Note 1 subs)
2tbsplight soy sauce(Note 2)
1tbsprice vinegar(Note 3)
1tspwhite sugar(or other sugar, or honey, maple)
2tspsesame oil, toasted (Note 4)
1/8tsp+ cooking / kosher salt(Note 5)
2heaped tbspchilli crisp (get oil + chili bits), Laoganma’s Spicy Chili Oil is my store-bought go-to, my personal favourite is Mrs C's Apprentice (Australia)(Note 6)
CHECK the spiciness of your chilli crisp - taste it!! Laoganma is not actually that spicy (most store bought brands I've used are similar) and the quantity used is based on that brand. If yours is very spicy, start with less and add more later.
Base sauce - Mix the sesame oil, vinegar, soy, sugar, salt and sesame paste in a bowl. Top with green onion (don’t mix in).
Sizzling chili crisp - Heat chilli crisp and oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic, stir 30 seconds until golden and it smells amazing. Pour over green onion - enjoy the sizzle! Then mix.
Toss - Cook noodles per packet directions. Drag the noodles straight from the saucepan into the bowl (extra water loosens the sauce). Toss. Use cooking water to loosen more if needed. Toss through coriander/cilantro.
Adjust & finish - Taste. Add more salt if needed and more chilli crisp if desired (not all chilli crisp is the same saltiness / spiciness). Eat!
Notes
* Optional. Makes it better, but still worth making without!1. Chinese sesame paste (not to be confused with Chinese sesame sauce which is not as intense) has more intense sesame flavour than tahini. Available at Asian stores and some large grocery stores. Sub with tahini or pure unsalted peanut butter with an extra dash of sesame oil at the end.Commercial peanut butter spread (eg Bega, Jif (US)) will also work but has the least flavour. 2. Soy - Or all-purpose soy or half the amount of dark soy sauce (sauce colour will be darker)3. Vinegar subs - or apple cider vinegar or other clear vinegar)4. Toasted sesame oil is brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, un-toasted is harder to find.5. Salt - Not all chili crisp has the same level of saltiness. Laoganma’s Spicy Chili Crisp (which I use) is quite salty. If you use homemade, you'll probably need more salt.6. Chili crisp - Chili oil with crispy bits of chili of varying levels of spiciness. My go-to: Laoganma’s Spicy Chili Oil, a worldwide favourite, not that spicy. Sweet, salty balance, and excellent crunch factor with extra from soy beans. Sold at larger grocery stores in Australia + Asian stores. Excellent flavour, A$4 for 200g/7oz jar. A special one I love - Mrs C's (Apprentice) - made by an Aussie small business using a recipe handed down through generations, exceptional crunch and flavour! Get the APPRENTICE for great chilli garlic flavour without serious heat (this is what I get), or the OG (classic) if you can (I use this sparingly)! (OG is spicier than Laoganma, Apprentice is about the same).Use the crispy chili bits plus some oil for frying up the chili, ginger and garlic. If you're short on oil from the jar, add a drizzle of oil.Make your own - try the Serious Eats or Chili Pepper Madness recipes for "real" ones , or Marion's Kitchen for a quick one (haven't tried but is rated well).7. Noodles - I like using ramen / instant noodles because the crispy chili bits gets tangled up in the curls. But any noodles will work here - same weight per ingredients list for other types of dried (like rice or egg noodles) or fresh noodles (ie from fridge).