17 February, 2010
Garlic noodles ref: Garlic Noodles
Posted in : Asian, Pasta, Vegetarian on by : wendland99$1.68 recipe / $0.42 serving
Today I made my first visit to our local Vietnamese grocery store where I picked up a couple basic sauces to add to my well stocked kitchen. One of the sauces I bought was an oyster sauce ($1.99 for 18 oz.) which is an excellent condiment for anything from noodles or rice to fish and meat. Oyster sauce gives these garlic noodles a little Asian flair and a lot of depth of flavor. The noodles also have a great balance of salty (from soy sauce) and sweet (from brown sugar) making them a great compliment to any main dish. If you don’t have an Asian grocery store in your town, check your local grocers as well. Oyster sauce is more common than you’d think!
Total Recipe cost: $1.68
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Cost per serving: $0.42
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 10 min. Total: 15 min.
| INGREDIENTS | COST | |
| 8 oz. (1/2 lb.) | angel hair pasta | $0.54 |
| 4 cloves | minced garlic | $0.24 |
| 1/2 bunch | green onions | $0.17 |
| 4 Tbsp | butter | $0.52 |
| 2 tsp | soy sauce | $0.02 |
| 2 Tbsp | brown sugar | $0.05 |
| 1 tsp | sesame oil | $0.04 |
| 2 Tbsp | oyster sauce | $0.10 |
| TOTAL | $1.63 | |
STEP 1: In a large pot, bring water to a boil to cook the noodles according to the directions on the box (enough water to cover noodles, boil for approximately 5 minutes).
STEP 2: While the pasta cooks, mince the garlic and chop the green onions. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and bubbly, add the garlic and onions and saute until they are soft but not browned.
STEP 3: While the pasta, garlic and onions are cooking, mix the oyster sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil together in a bowl.
STEP 4: Once the pasta is done cooking, drain it in a colander. Remove the skillet with the sauteed garlic and green onions from the heat. Add the drained pasta and oyster sauce mixture to the skillet and stir well to coat the pasta. If your pasta is stiff or sticky making it hard to stir, mix in a small amount (1/4 cup or less) of hot water to loosen them up.
NOTE: I garnished my noodles with some left over green onions and a couple sesame seeds although neither is necessary. Everyone likes a different ratio of sweet to salty so taste your noodles after mixing them in the sauce to see if you prefer more soy sauce or brown sugar.
A word of warning… be careful with these noodles because they are addictive! While shooting the photos and cleaning up the kitchen I found myself grabbing bite after bite until my stomach wanted to explode. Be careful.
My purchases from the Vietnamese Grocery store:
rice noodles $1.49
chili garlic paste $2.19
oyster sauce $1.99
fish sauce $1.19
sweet chili sauce $2.49
All of these sauces are “staples” and are only needed in small quantities in recipes meaning they’ll last a long LONG time!
UPDATE: The Walmart Neighborhood Market that I was just at had oyster sauce, sesame oil and about 3 or 4 different kinds of sweet chili sauce while the Super Walmart I was at last week had no oyster sauce or sweet chili sauce. So, if you don’t have an Asian grocery store, be sure to check all of your markets because even if they are the same company, their stock can very from location to location!
ref: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2009/12/garlic-noodles-168-recipe-042-serving.html
