Asian garlic butter noodles

Last year I was invited by my friend to eat at The District by Hannah An – an exclusive Vietnamese dining room on West 3rd street. It is one of his favorite places he goes to when he’s in town. Thanks to him this gem is now also on my list of top LA restaurants. All because of this one freaking delicious dish he ordered: Hanna’s Handmade Noodles with Signature Sauce.

It was love at first bite. After that I started indulging and analyzing at the same time. Swirling the noodles inside my mouth, giving my palate an experience it never had before. The texture of the noodles, the buttery coating, infused with garlic, something tangy maybe parmesan cheese, for the umami kick. There are different layers. But what? Did I taste maple syrup or palm sugar? Was it fish sauce or oyster sauce? A complete mystery. Am I exaggerating? Maybe so. But I had to try it in my home lab.

The mothership called Crustacean is the first Asian fusion eatery of the An family and also known as that glitzy corner restaurant in Beverly Hills. On their menu these mysterious noodles appear under the header “From the Secret Kitchen” as “An’s Famous Garlic Noodles” with a Trade Mark sign next to it. It only mentions roasted garlic and An’s secret sauce. The keyword being “secret”.

So I went home to experiment. I came up with this recipe. If you can, get fresh egg noodles or make it yourself. Use real unsalted butter to be infused with the taste of roasted garlic and the other ingredients. There are maybe one or two ingredients close to the real thing and maybe a magic dance that’s missing. In my opinion I got real close. For now I say “inspired by Hanna An’s Signature Noodles”.

Without further ado, let’s get this show on the road!

SERVES 2 or 1 if you cannot stop sampling.

INGREDIENTS

1. 8 oz. Egg noodles/ Chow Mein noodles (fresh if possible)
2. 4 oz unsalted butter  – melt at low heat 25 minutes
3. 4 cloves of garlic minced or 1/2 tsp garlic powder  (1/8 tsp powder equals 1 clove of garlic). Add more garlic to taste
4. 1 tbsp brown sugar
5. 1 tbsp fish sauce
6. 1 tbsp Maggie seasoning – the flavor amplifier
7. 1/2 tsp dried red chilli pepper flakes
8. 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
9. 1 tsp Italian parsley, finely chopped for garnish

TIP: use oyster sauce instead of brown sugar and fish sauce.

METHOD

1. Cook egg noodles al dente in boiling water – drain – saving 1/2 cup starchy water, put noodles in large bowl and set aside
2. Add butter to saucepan and melt on low heat to avoid burning
3. Add minced garlic and stir on low heat for about 2 minutes. Do not burn garlic
4. Add sugar and stir until dissolved
5. Add fish sauce and oyster sauce
6. Add dried red chili
7. Add noodles to the pan at low heat.
8. Add saved water turning the noodles and turn up the heat to medium and cook for 1-2 min until sauce thickens
9. Add Sprinkle Parmesan cheese (Umami bomb) at the end to get maximum flavor of cheese
10. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately

In the restaurant these noodles were accompanied with Roasted Maine Lobster.

Check this other pasta recipe here.

©2019jeffkeasberry