Chili Garlic Noodles are as good as your takeout noodles but so easy to make at home. Crunchy vegetables, flavorful tofu, al Dante noodles and aromatic savory sauce. Perfect Asian inspired weeknight meal under 20 minutes.
This Vegan Chinese Noodles recipe is budget friendly and super delicious. We are including easy tips to make these Vegetable Noodles in Instant Pot as well as on the Stove top.
The contrasting colors of peppers, snow peas and green onions create an appealing visuals to get your appetite going. Then there are varying textures. Thin spaghetti , tofu and lip smacking chili garlic sauce. All dusted with amazing Chinese Five Spice Seasoning for an easy one pot meal with a lot of flare. Drool drool..
Recipe Inspiration
As always, this recipe was originated in my kitchen while experimenting with different spices and herbs. If you are regular readers of our blog, you know how much we love creating beautiful and flavorful meals.
So I was craving Chinese food and wasn’t in a mood to order take out. I needed something different than typical chow-mein or lo-mein. Typically these are the times, when some of our best recipes have been created.
I want to eat Chinese/ Asian food guilt free. So I have re created array of Chinese inspired dishes at home. Beauty of these recipes is that I can control the quality of ingredients. I also can trust the source and try to use pantry staple ingredients that are easily available.
Here are our amazing Homemade Chinese food recipes.
- Chinese Spicy Eggplant
- Chili Garlic Edamame
- Vegetable Lo Mein Noodles
- Vegan Eggroll in a bowl
- Kung Pao Tofu
- Chinese Spicy Green Beans
- Ginger Garlic Bok Choy
- Spicy Rice Ramen
What is Chinese Five Spice?
I had read about Chinese five spice powder in a spice encyclopedia. This spice mix is based on the five elements – fire, water, wood, earth and metal. It helps ensure harmony in nature and symbolizes good health.
You can find Chinese Five Spice Mix next to all the other spices at the grocery store. It’s savory blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, peppercorns and star anise. One of the superbly aromatic spice mixtures, you will love using this spice blend to perk up any bland meal.
For thousands of years, herbs and spices have been used to restore balance in the body. According to traditional Chinese medicine, these five elements are the core of well functioning body. And using these herbs and spices can ensure the proper balance.
Intrigued enough, I brought the Chinese Five Spice and it has become a favorite spice blend of our household. Sprinkle it on any food that needs instant savory perk up. I am including a amazon link ( affiliate) if you want to order it online. Chinese 5 Spice Amazon Link
Best Asian Garlic Noodles
So going back to creating this scintillating scrumptious noodles. I wanted to pair up the amazingly flavorful spice blend with something savory- bold and spicy.
So I decided to experiment it with chili garlic sauce, chilies, garlic, ginger and vinegar seemed like a perfect match. And my sizzling sensational noodles were born !!
Plus, you don’t need any kind of special noodles to make this recipe. I used standard spaghetti noodles. You can use linguine, fettuccine, or even angel hair.
Ramen noodles work very well with this recipe. You can use rice noodles to make it Glutenfree.
Are Chinese Garlic Noodles Spicy?
Yes, they can be. If you’re adverse to spiciness then adjust the amount of chili garlic sauce. And if you want to make them for young children then, keep the sauce on the side so they can enjoy it along.
We absolutely LOVE these Spicy Asian Noodles. It’s on repeat meal prep in our kitchen and just can’t seem to get enough of this recipe. I love how quick and easy these noodles are to make. Great for a quick weeknight meal.
Leftovers taste amazing. Though I must admit – we hardly have any since we compete for eating till the very last slurpy delicious noodles. All . the. time !
These beautiful, colorful, fabulously-flavorful noodle were ready to go whenever you crave them. You summon them and 20 minutes later they are ready.
Sweet, spicy and DELICIOUS meal better than take out. Spicy Chili Garlic Noodles recipe is your instantaneous ticket to Asia without leaving your house and without using your frequent flier miles 🙂
Ingredients
- Noodles – I used regular spaghetti noodles. You can use any noodles you have readily available. Use rice noodles to make it gluten free.
- Veggies – For the authentic Asian flavors, I used multi color sweet peppers, green onions, and snow peas. Again no hard and fast rule. Use whatever veggies you have in refrigerator. Broccoli, cabbage, green beans, edamame all work very well.
- Tofu – I used tofu to add plant protein and make it a complete meal. The meaty texture of tofu makes this recipe even more filling and hearty. If you are looking to make it soy free, skip tofu. For similar texture, you can substitute mushrooms instead.
- Sauces and seasoning – This is the most integral part if these delicious noodles. I am using minced ginger and garlic as a base. We use Sambal Oelek chili garlic sauce to coat the noodles. Chinese five spice gives a nice rustic, earthy flavor. Sesame oil and liquid coconut amino round up the taste.
How To Make Instant Pot Garlic Noodles
I love cooking pasta or noodles in electric pressure cooker like Instant Pot. It saves actively monitoring few steps while making pasta.
You don’t’ need to wait and watch boiling water, or while noodles are boiling. You don’t have to drain hot boiling water off either. A true one pot meal, it’s so much easier to make noodles in Instant Pot or Electric Pressure cooker.
In Instant Pot, when noodles are cooked, if you notice too much water, then drain excess water. If there is little water, noodles will soak it up.
Also, I prefer NOT to pressure cook the veggies with noodles since I like different textures instead of mushy gulpy veggies. However, if you want to make this recipe truly dump and go, you can.
Just dump all ingredients in the Instant Pot and cook at once. However, just 5 extra minutes of sautéing the veggies separately makes a big difference between mushy gulp vs tender textured veggies and noodles. So choice is yours 🙂
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Chili Garlic Chinese Noodles
Ingredients
- 8 oz thin spaghetti noodles
- 1 cup red bell pepper cut into stripes
- 1 cup green onions cut into small pieces
- 1 cup snow peas ends trimmed
- 1 cup pressed firm tofu cut into bite size pieces
- 1 inch ginger root minced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil or any cooking oil
- 1 Tablespoon Sambal Oelek or Chili garlic paste - adjust per taste
- 2 teaspoons Chinese 5 spice
- ¼ cup liquid coconut amino or low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1 teaspoon raw sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Lemon / lime wedges cut green onion and sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
Stove top directions :
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain the excess water and keep it aside.
- Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add oil. Add minced ginger& garlic and let it sizzle.
- Add the veggies and tofu, chili garlic sauce, Chinese five spice, liquid coconut amino, sugar, salt and pepper. Sauté on high heat for 3-5 minutes. Veggies should look tender but not mushy. ( high heat cooking will help them cook quickly so stir frequently).
- Add the cooked noodles to the wok. Toss and mix so everything coats well together. Turn off the heat.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if required. Garnish with chopped green onions, sesame seeds and squeezed lime juice. Serve warm. Enjoy.
Instant Pot Directions:
- Start Instant Pot on sauté mode. Once it displays HOT, add oil in main steel insert. Add ginger, garlic and let it sizzle.
- Add the veggies and tofu, 1/2 of chili garlic sauce, Chinese five spice, 1 tbsp. liquid coconut amino, sugar salt and pepper. Sauté on high for 3-5 minutes stirring frequently.
- Once veggies look cooked and tender, CANCEL sauté function. Remove the mixture from Instant Pot and set aside.
- Break noodles in half and add them in main steel insert of instant pot. Add enough water to cover the noodles.
- Add 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon of Chinese 5 spice, 1 tbsp. of coconut amino and half a tablespoon chili garlic sauce.
- Close the lid and valve in SEALING position. Choose MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK mode on high for 4 minutes. After it's done cooking, wait for 4 minutes on keep warm timer and then release the leftover pressure manually by moving the valve from SEALING to VENTING. Open the lid carefully.
- Add the sautéed veggies to the main insert. Using tongs, mix everything well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if required.
- Garnish with chopped green onions, sesame seeds and squeezed lime juice. Serve warm. Enjoy !!
Sam
It needed something. No sure what. Didn’t have liquid Amino, used soy sauce instead. Maybe that was it. I’ll try it again wit that. Thx for the recipes