San Francisco-Style Vietnamese Garlic Noodles

Garlic, pasta, and classic Asian flavors collide in this easy, popular Asian-inspired noodle dish.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Servings: servings

Calories: 577

In a 12-inch (30-cm) skillet, bring 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) of water to a boil over high heat.
☞ TESTER TIP: Don't salt the water. There's plenty of salt in the soy, oyster, and fish sauces.

Add the 1 pound dry spaghetti, stir a few times to make sure it’s not clumping, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente (about 2 minutes short of the recommended cook time on the package).
While the noodles are cooking, melt the 4 tablespoons (2 oz) unsalted butter in a wok or saucepan over medium heat. Add the 20 medium garlic cloves and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
Pour in the 4 teaspoons oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce or shoyu, and 2 teaspoons fish sauce, and stir to combine. Remove from the heat.
☞ TESTER TIP: If you choose to add shrimp, as suggested in the headnote, stir-fry them with the garlic. This may increase the cooking time by a minute or two.
Using tongs, transfer the cooked pasta to the garlic sauce, along with whatever water clings to it. Increase the heat to high, add the 1 ounce grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese to the wok, and stir and toss vigorously until the sauce is creamy and emulsified, about 30 seconds.
(If the sauce looks too watery, let it keep reducing. If it looks greasy, splash some more cooking water into it and let it re-emulsify.)
Stir in the thinly sliced scallions, if using, and serve immediately.