I could eat noodles (and pasta) every single day. These Chile Oil Garlic Noodles are very high on my list of favorite noodles to make. They’re simple to make, so tasty and there are so many ways to make them! This recipe is a Korean-style Chile Oil Garlic Noodle dish.
Korean Style Garlic Chile Oil versus Traditional Szechuan Garlic Chili Oil
This recipe is all about the garlic chile oil. This Korean style chile oil version is different in both ingredients and process compared to the more traditional Szechuan version, but the bright and bold flavors are still very much there.
What is Chile Oil?
Traditional Szechuan garlic chile oil begins with a variety of spices such as Szechuan peppercorns (which aren’t peppercorns at all, but dried berries from the deciduous prickly ash tree within the citrus family that carry both floral and citrus notes), Chinese cinnamon bark (similar in taste to a ‘red hot’ candy), star anise, bay leaves, cloves, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, garlic, ginger, and green onions. The ingredients are simmered and steeped together with a neutral oil such as vegetable or grape seed and then strained. The strained oil is then brought up to a boil and poured over an Asian style chile powder and that mixture is tossed together with noodles.
This Korean style garlic chile oil is different from the Szechuan version and much more simple with way fewer ingredients, but I wanted to mention the above because it’s a version people are more familiar with.
Vegetable oil or sesame oil or both!
Both vegetable and sesame oil are used in this version to bring out a a deep, nutty flavor with some balance. Korean style chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame seeds are other ingredients that are used. The oil is still heated and poured over the chile powder, garlic and ginger, but the remaining chile oil ingredients are simply stirred into the mixture. The noodles and a portion of the chile garlic oil are then tossed together and topped with more oil. The dish is then finished with crushed peanuts, for a nutty flavor and crunchy texture. So simple, but so good.
Can you make Garlic Chile Oil ahead of time?
The garlic chile oil can be made up to 1 week ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. The oil (or really sauce) is very diverse and can be used to top steamed or pan fried dumplings as well as drizzled atop broth-based noodle soups.
Leave a comment below if you guys make a version of garlic chile oil both different from the traditional Szechuan version or this Korean version. There are so many different ways to make this from so many different cultures! If you want to stay away from chiles, try our other recipe for savory Garlic Noodles.
Enjoy! xx, Jenny
- Garlic Noodles
- Singapore Noodles
- Soba Noodles with Shrimp
- Chow Mein
- Capellini with Garlic, Lemon and Parmesan
- Red Curry Noodles
Chile Oil Garlic Noodles
INGREDIENTS
Garlic Chile Oil
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2½ tbsp Korean Chile Powder (gochugaru)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced optional
- 12 oz wide flat rice noodles
- 3 tbsp crushed peanuts
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small saucepan simmer vegetable oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour hot oil over chilie powder, garlic and ginger and stir together. Once oil has cooled, stir in remaining chile oil ingredients. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, 4 to 5 minutes. Place dry noodles into a shallow dish. Pour boiling water over noodles and allow noodles to soften completely, about 10 minutes.
- Drain and pour noodles into a large bowl. Top with 3/4 of garlic chili oil toss together until completely coated.
- Transfer coated noodles to a platter and top with remaining oil. Top with crushed peanuts and serve.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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Could I substitute the chili powder with the paste?
I literally make this weekly and have been sharing with neighbors who are also hooked. I add a bit of rice vinegar and/or lime to the sauce and then more lime after.
This is so simple but tastes like you spent a lot of time making it. I stir fried some ground beef and tossed with the chili garlic wide rice noodles and then tossed in very fresh bean sprouts which wilted in the hot noodles. Family loves this dish!
Yummy recipe. going to try this out for sure.
I feel slightly silly asking this…I can only find Korean Chili FLAKES…must I crush them with mortar and pestle or is it OK to use the larger FLAKES?
Don’t feel silly! Totally fine to use larger flakes!
Waoh……Yummy……..Going to try this. Keep posting. Is it so spicy?
That’s what I’m wondering
Yes! It is quite spicy. Still flavorful but I think next time I’ll use something to cut the heat a little. I can’t handle the fire like I used to!
The food here has always been so appetizing! I’ve always been a foodie myself.
perfect for what I’ve missed, food-wise, since I can’t normally eat pasta, that is except for my cheat day which is today, yay, so thank ou for this recipe
Sounds great. So would the chile powder used be Gochugaru?
Yes!
100% going to make this for all those dumplings in my freezer!
we make the chilli oil by mixing it with Red dried Indian chillies slightly split and by gently heating the whole thing for a few minutes. The whole thing is then stored in a moisture free clean jar for later use