I Made The Cheapest Noodle Dish Ever (8 Ways)

Buttered Noodles

1. Place bucatini in a large pot of boiling water that has been seasoned generously with salt. Cook according to package instructions or until cooked al dente, about 7 minutes. Do not drain the pasta.
2. While noodles are boiling, to a large saucepan over medium-low heat add half your butter.  Once butter is slightly melted, cut off the heat and wait for your pasta to finish boiling.
3. Using tongs transfer your cooked pasta directly from the pot of water into your melted butter saucepan.  Don’t worry about pasta water getting into the pan as it helps to emulsify the sauce. Add your remaining butter and begin constantly tossing the pasta while adding a Tbsp of pasta water at a time until your sauce is fully emulsified and slightly thickened.  Ideally you want it clinging to the pasta nicely.
4. Season to taste with salt, toss again to coat evenly, and serve. Optionally, add flakey salt and freshly cracked pepper.  Be cautious when using flaky salt as it could over salt your dish if it’s already salty enough.

Drunken Noodles

Sauce:

1. Into a ramekin or small mixing bowl, add your sauce ingredients and whisk until combined. Optionally, if you don’t want to buy both dark and light soy sauce, you can save money by doubling up on either dark or light soy sauce.

Noodles:

1. In a large wok over medium-high heat add vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Once the oil is beginning to smoke, add chicken gently into one layer to cook evenly, and season to taste with salt.  Sear for 1 to 2 minutes undisturbed, then stir fry for 2-4 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through. Internal temperature should register 165°F or 73°C. 
2. To the wok, add shallot, garlic, Thai chili and Fresno chili or jalapeno.  Season to taste with salt, and stir fry for another 30 seconds until fragrant and lightly softened. Add your rice noodles, toss to combine, and then add your sauce and toss to coat.
3. Turn off the heat and add fresh basil leaves, optionally whole, or torn, and toss once more to combine before plating and serving.

Pastina:

1. In a 2 qt saucepan, add chicken stock and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, add pastina and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente.  At this point the majority of the liquid should be evaporated or absorbed by the pasta.
2. Turn off the heat and add your butter, stirring constantly until it's completely melted and emulsified. Add your Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano (or both), and mix until fully combined.  Season to your taste with salt if needed.
3. Plate onto a shallow dish and optionally top with more freshly grated cheese of your choice and freshly cracked black pepper.

Chow Mein

Sauce:

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk until fully combined.

Noodle Assembly:

1. In a large wok over medium-high heat add vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Once the oil is beginning to smoke, add chicken gently into one layer to cook evenly.  Season lightly with salt, searing 1 to 2 minutes, and then stir fry and add more salt to taste. Once your chicken is just cooked through, about 3-4 more minutes, add cabbage, carrot, celery, and green onion, season again lightly with salt to taste, and then stir fry for about 2 minutes, or just until the vegetables are softened.  Add chow mein noodles, according to package directions (some are parboiled, others will need to be boiled prior to this step), and toss to combine. Add your bean sprouts (optional) and the sauce, toss until sauce is completely incorporated and thickened.
2. Turn off heat, add garlic, and stir until completely combined and fragrant. Plate and optionally garnish with remaining green onions.

San Francisco Vietnamese Garlic Noodles:

1. In a 5 qt saute pan, bring 2 qt of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and boil for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente, and most of the water is absorbed.  If the water evaporates earlier, just add water back about 1 cup at a time until the pasta is cooked through.The goal at the end of this cook is to have al dente pasta and a small amount of starch-rich water left behind in the pan to help create a nice sauce utilizing that highly starchy water. 
2. Meanwhile, in sauce pan placed over medium heat add butter, and once melted add garlic, gently stirring often, just until the garlic becomes fragrant and translucent. Remove from heat. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, and oyster sauce and mix until combined.
3. Add the butter sauce to your pasta and toss constantly until emulsified and slightly thickened. Add Parmigiano Reggiano and continue tossing until emulsified and fully incorporated. 
4. Add most of your green onion, reserving a handful for garnish, and toss to combine. Taste and add salt to taste only if needed.  Plate and garnish with green onion.

Yaki Udon

Sauce:

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk until fully combined.

Noodle Assembly:

1. In a large wok over high heat add 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Add onion, cabbage, green onion, mushrooms and season with salt to taste. Stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft and slightly browned. Remove from the wok and set aside.
2. To the wok, add 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil, and once almost smoking, crack eggs gently into oil and quickly season to taste with salt, scrambling them as they cook. 
3. Once scrambled, add your vegetables back to the wok along with udon noodles, (cooked according to package directions), white pepper, MSG, and your sauce. Toss to combine and once thoroughly coated, turn off the heat. Add garlic and toss thoroughly.
4. Plate and garnish with sesame seeds, and optionally, bonito flakes and thinly sliced green onion.

Japchae

Jidan (Egg Garnish):

1. Separate two egg yolks, discarding the whites. Season lightly with salt, and mix until combined.
2. Heat a small non-stick pan over medium heat, spray or coat with vegetable oil and add yolks and cook for about 45 seconds to 1 minute, or until 75% of the way cooked through. Flip the eggs, turn off the heat and let the cooked yolks sit for another 30 seconds. 
3. Remove cooked yolks from the pan onto a cutting board, and when cool enough to touch, roll the yolks up and cut into thinly sliced threads similar to a chiffonade, about ¼ inch thick.

Stir Fry:

1. Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil and cook noodles according to package directions.
2. In a large seasoned wok over medium low heat add baby spinach, cooking down until fully wilted. Add soy sauce and sesame oil, toss to combine and remove from the wok and set aside.
3. Working in batches, return wok to medium-high heat, add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Once nearly smoking, stir-fry each of the following vegetables below separately, each with 1 Tbsp of oil, salt to taste and transferring each to a separate plate or bowl  before moving on:
4. Green onion & sweet onion – 1–2 minutes
5. Mushrooms – 2–3 minutes
6. Carrots – about 2 minutes
7. Red pepper – about 2 minutes

Noodle Assembly:

1. To a large mixing bowl add your cooked noodles and all your stir fry ingredients. Add garlic, soy sauce, and sweet soy sauce and toss by hand to combine, gloves recommended.  Optionally, add more soy sauce or sesame oil to taste.
2. To serve, plate and garnish with spinach, jidan (egg garnish), toasted sesame seeds, and optionally, thinly sliced green onions. 

Budget Chile Garlic Noodles

Noodle Assembly:

1. In a small saucepan, heat vegetable oil to 350°F or 175°C. Separately, bring a large pot filled with water to a boil. 
2. While the oil is heating and the water is boiling, to a medium sized mixing bowl add all seasoning and sauce packets from your 2 ramen packages and mix to combine. Add gochugaru and mix to combine. Then carefully pour hot oil into the mixing bowl, stirring with a whisk until fully combined.  The mixture will aggressively bubble, so be careful not to burn yourself here. 
3. Add your 2 dry noodle squares to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. 
4. Using a spider, or tongs, transfer your noodles into your chile oil and mix until combined. Transfer to a plate and garnish with green onion and garlic.

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