Noodles Recipes

Prep 20min Cook 15min 2 servings

Pad Thai

Tamarind, fish sauce, and sugar decide everything in pad thai: shift the ratio slightly and the dish leans sour, salty, or sweet. Firm tofu fried golden gives a nutty base, shrimp cook only until pink, and eggs are scrambled into thin ribbons in a cleared space in the pan. Bean sprouts and scallion go in for the last few seconds to stay crisp, with crushed peanuts and lime on the side.

Prep 15min Cook 12min 2 servings

Pad Woon Sen (Thai Stir-Fried Glass Noodles with Shrimp and Egg)

Glass noodles drink up soy and oyster sauce fast, turning clear and glossy within a minute or two in a hot pan. With shrimp, cabbage, carrot, and egg, this Thai stir-fry comes together in a few minutes over high heat.

Korean Soy Udon with Scallion Salad

A tangle of finely shredded scallion, soaked in cold water for at least five minutes to soften its raw bite, sits on top of soy-dressed udon and stays crisp to the last forkful. Without that soak, the sharpness of raw scallion overwhelms the dressing. The dressing mixes soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, gochugaru, and sesame oil into something sweet, salty, tangy, and mildly hot. Half of it coats the noodles first for an even base, and the rest is folded in with the drained scallion, which loses its crunch if squeezed hard. The udon is cooked only until the strands loosen, which keeps it springy.

Prep 12min Cook 8min 2 servings

Prep 20min Cook 20min 4 servings

Pancit Bihon (Filipino Stir-Fried Rice Vermicelli with Chicken)

The water used to poach the chicken breast is kept, and a spoonful goes in whenever the rice vermicelli starts to look dry in the pan. The thin noodles soak up the chicken flavor along with the soy and fish sauce and finish loose, with no liquid pooling underneath.

Prep 15min Cook 15min 2 servings

Pancit Canton (Filipino Stir-Fried Egg Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables)

Chicken thigh goes into the pan first, and the fat and juices it releases carry the carrot and cabbage through a quick, high-heat toss. Water or stock is added only a spoonful at a time, so the egg noodles drink it up along with the soy and oyster sauce and no broth is left in the pan.

Prep 20min Cook 25min 2 servings

Pancit Palabok (Filipino Rice Noodles with Annatto Shrimp Sauce)

An orange shrimp sauce colored with annatto blankets thin rice noodles, finished with boiled egg and a squeeze of lime. Shell-on shrimp are worth buying, because the savory depth comes from a stock made with their shells and fish sauce.

Prep 25min Cook 40min 4 servings

Korean Red Bean Noodle Soup

Thick red bean broth, salted first and only lightly sweetened, turns knife-cut wheat noodles into a filling winter meal rather than a dessert. The beans are boiled twice, with the first water thrown out entirely, which strips their astringent edge and gives the broth a cleaner color. Glutinous rice flour thickens the strained puree just enough to hold the noodles without turning stodgy, and the pot needs frequent stirring because the bottom scorches easily. Cooking the noodles in a separate pot and rinsing them keeps their starch from thinning or clouding the broth. Chestnuts and pine nuts on top add a firmer bite against the smooth puree.

Prep 20min Cook 25min 4 servings

Beijing Zhajiangmian (Northern Chinese Fermented Bean Paste Noodles)

Unlike the glossy, starch-thickened black bean noodles found in Korean Chinese restaurants, this Beijing version gets its body purely from reduction: pork and fermented bean paste cook down until a spatula leaves a brief trail through the sauce. Doenjang mixed into the sweet bean paste pushes the flavor toward salty and funky, with a spoonful of sugar to soften the edge. The thick sauce sits on chewy fresh wheat noodles alongside crisp cucumber and bean sprouts, all tossed together hard right before eating.

Prep 10min Cook 18min 2 servings

Korean Perilla Seed Kalguksu

Starch from sliced potato simmered first gives the broth its base body, leaving the perilla seed powder added near the end only to finish it. The result is a light, nutty soup that clings thinly to the noodles. Fresh kalguksu noodles go straight into the pot, and stirring right away is the main guard against a clumped, stuck mass.

Noodles Hard

Vietnamese Beef Pho

Beef bones simmered for 6 to 8 hours with star anise, cinnamon, and fire-charred ginger and onion give this pho a broth that stays clear while carrying layers of spice and smoke. The long prep starts with soaking and blanching the bones, which keeps the stock from clouding over those hours. The star anise and cinnamon are toasted in a dry pan only until fragrant and pulled out at once, before they turn bitter. Fish sauce seasons the broth in portions at the end. Raw beef sliced thin is laid over the noodles and cooked right in the bowl by the boiling broth. At the table, bean sprouts, lime, and basil sit on the side so each person can tune the bowl's freshness and acidity.

Prep 30min Cook 480min 4 servings

Prep 25min Cook 55min 4 servings

Hanoi-Style Pho Bo (Vietnamese Northern Clear Beef Noodle Soup)

With dry-pan charred onion and ginger as its only aromatics and no star anise or cinnamon, this northern-style broth tastes cleaner and lighter than spice-heavy pho. Brisket simmered for 40 minutes makes the stock instead of long-boiled bones, and the same beef, sliced thin across the grain, becomes the topping. With so few ingredients, careful skimming of fat and foam shows directly in the bowl, and cilantro and lime add the final lift.

Prep 20min Cook 55min 4 servings

Hanoi-Style Chicken Pho (Pho Ga)

Chicken thighs simmered gently for 40 minutes make both the broth and the topping: once they pull apart easily, the meat is shredded along the grain and laid over the noodles. A hard bubble would cloud the stock, so the heat stays low throughout, and fish sauce is added only at the very end to keep its aroma. Onion and ginger charred dark on the outside give the stock a sweet, toasty depth. In the Hanoi manner, scallions and bean sprouts top the bowl, and in Hanoi pho ga is a common breakfast. Lime is squeezed in only at the table to keep its scent bright.

Prep 15min Cook 20min 2 servings

Korean Street Stall Udon (Dashi Broth Fish Cake Noodle Soup)

Fish cake simmered right in the broth, a heap of dried seaweed flakes, and sliced scallions: this bowl recreates the udon sold at Korean street stalls, known as pojangmacha. The fish cake stays in for only about 5 minutes, since much longer leaves it soft and limp. The broth is a quick homemade dashi of kombu and bonito flakes, seasoned with both soup soy sauce and regular soy sauce for a balance of savoriness and color, plus a little sugar to round off the soy. The bonito flakes steep off the heat without stirring, which keeps the dashi clear. The soup stays clear because frozen udon is only blanched in a separate pot and placed in the bowl first, with the broth brought back to a rolling boil and poured over.

Korean Ramen Tteokbokki (Spicy Rice Cake and Ramen Noodle Stir-Fry)

Rabokki adds instant ramen noodles to tteokbokki, the chewy rice cakes simmered in a sweet, spicy gochujang sauce. The rice cakes simmer alone for 5 minutes to soften, and the ramen and fish cakes follow for just 3, because the noodles soak up sauce fast; by the time they are cooked, the sauce has reduced to a thick glaze. Plenty of water at the start allows for that absorption. Half a packet of the ramen seasoning deepens the savoriness, and a layer of cheese turns it into cheese rabokki. Boiled eggs and green onion finish the pot, which is best eaten right away before the noodles swell.

Prep 5min Cook 15min 2 servings

Korean Instant Ramen (Spicy Chewy Noodles in Five Minutes)

Rice cakes, kimchi, eggs and a slice of cheese turn two packs of instant ramen into a loaded snack-bar style bowl. Kimchi and cheese both bring salt, so the seasoning packet tastes stronger than usual if it all goes in at once. The noodles tend to finish before the eggs set, and lifting them out early saves them from going soft.

Prep 5min Cook 10min 2 servings

Prep 15min Cook 30min 5 servings

Saba Somen (Simmered Mackerel with Somen)

Grilled mackerel is braised in a sweet soy broth, and that same liquid then seasons somen noodles served around the whole fish. The dish belongs to the Kohoku area of Shiga, where mackerel arrived easily over the Saba Kaido, the old road linking Wakasa and Kyoto. It ties to a May custom of sending grilled mackerel to a married daughter busy with rice planting, and to festive tables at Nagahama's Hikiyama festival.

Korean Shrimp Head Ramyeon

The raw heads left over from live shrimp sashimi are simmered with one packet of spicy instant noodles. As the shells turn from gray to orange, the broth picks up the shrimp's sweetness and the aroma of the shells.

Prep 5min Cook 8min 1 serving

Prep 14min Cook 20min 2 servings

Korean Shrimp Tomato Knife-Cut Noodles

With a base of tomato, garlic, onion and olive oil and a finish of grated Parmesan, this lands somewhere between a light tomato pasta and Korean knife-cut noodle soup. There is no anchovy stock or soy sauce, which leaves the tart tomato flavor in charge. That also means the tomatoes have to be crushed and cooked down until thick before any water is added, or the broth tastes flat. The garlic stays pale, cooked gently only until the onion turns translucent. Added once the noodles are nearly done and seasoned with just a pinch of salt, the shrimp stay tender and the broth does not turn salty.

Prep 15min Cook 40min 4 servings

Saimin

Dried shrimp, kombu, and pork bones simmer together into a broth that tastes of both the sea and the stockpot. Hawaii's saimin differs from ramen in that there is no separate soy tare; the strained broth is seasoned directly with soy sauce, salt, and pepper.

Prep 25min Cook 15min 2 servings

Sara Udon (Crispy Noodles with Seafood Thick Sauce)

Crisp fried thin noodles are buried under a hot, glossy sauce of pork, shrimp, squid, and vegetables thickened with potato starch. Chen Pingshun of Shikairo created it in 1899 as a soupless version of champon. Nagasaki still distinguishes the original thick-noodle style from the thin, crunchy style most people eat today, and this recipe follows the latter with store-bought fried noodles. Kamaboko, bean sprouts, and shiitake are added late so the sprouts keep their snap. Where the sauce soaks in, the noodles soften, and the rest stays crunchy.

Prep 10min Cook 15min 2 servings

Rich Sea Urchin (Uni) Cream Udon

Half the uni melts into the cream sauce, spreading its briny sweetness through every strand of udon, while pollock roe (mentaiko) sauteed with garlic stands in for salt. The other half is kept raw for the top, so the same ingredient arrives in two forms: dissolved and creamy in the sauce, cool and custardy on top.

Prep 25min Cook 10min 2 servings

Korean Black Soybean Noodle Cup

Black soybeans (seoritae) turn this chilled noodle soup a soft gray, and their nuttiness runs deeper than the ivory broth made from ordinary yellow soybeans, with a clean finish. The cooked beans are cooled completely before blending so their nutty aroma is not lost. Milk blended in with the cold water gives the broth a rounder, creamier feel, and salt is the only seasoning. Pressing the broth through a fine strainer removes bits of skin for a smooth, drinkable texture, and an hour in the fridge before serving deepens the flavor. Served in cups over thin somyeon with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and ice, it works as a single-portion take on kongguksu, the Korean summer noodle dish.