Garlic noodles with prawn

A dish of simple flavors with abundant garlic and high-quality butter.

Growing up, we didn’t eat garlic noodles, but have enjoyed it since living in California from the famous Crustacean restaurants found in Los Angeles and San Francisco, which claim it as their signature dish. Buttery and garlicky, this dish has everything going for it by it’s sheer simplicity.

Their garlic noodle recipe is a closely guarded secret by the restaurant which makes a big deal out of a “secret kitchen,” a kitchen within a kitchen where only family members can go into. This arguably is fine from a business point of view, but we’re all about sharing easy recipes that everyone can enjoy. So this is our rendition of garlic noodles.

A dish of simple flavors must rely on high quality ingredients – fresh and abundant garlic and high quality butter. We use Frental beurre demi sel, a French salted butter that is wonderful and noticeably more fragrant than your average stick of butter. We use plenty of fresh garlic, finely minced, saving any juices. We like the simplicity of using thin spaghetti noodles and finally, we love this dish with large, plump prawns and topped with fresh herbs to finish.

Garlic Noodles with Prawn

Serves 2 to 4

8 ounces thin spaghetti noodles
1/2 lb. large prawns (16-20 size) peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons French buerre demi sel, divided into thirds
1 green onion, chopped into 1-inch pieces
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Boil the thin spaghetti noodles al dente according to instructions. Drain and set aside. In the meantime, marinade shrimp with oyster sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, and 1 tablespoon of the minced garlic for about 15 minutes.

In wok with medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon garlic. Quickly stir fry the prawns just barely opaque and half way done, about 2-3 minutes. Remove prawns, any juices, and garlic from wok and set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons butter and additional 1 tablespoon garlic to the hot wok. Add the noodles and quickly stir fry, tossing noodles to even coat with butter and garlic, about 2 minutes. Return the prawns to the stir fry and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the green onions, season to taste and transfer to serving platter.

Grate fresh Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

Cooks note: Use more or less garlic according to taste – be careful not to let the garlic burn. If you can't find French beurre demi sel, use the best quality butter you can find. Unsalted butter can be used, just adjust seasoning accordingly. Use egg noodles if you prefer, but we like the consistency of good thin spaghetti noodles.

– Hong Pham and Kim Dao blog at The Ravenous Couple.

Related post: Vietnamese Tumeric Noodles

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