40 Cloves of Garlic Noodles with Shrimp

SERVES: 6–8 PREP: 15 minutes TOTAL TIME: 1 hour, 15 minutes

40 Cloves of Garlic Noodles with Shrimp

SERVES: 6–8 PREP: 15 minutes TOTAL TIME: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Worth the garlic breath! With a surprisingly sweet sauce from roasted and crispy garlic.

You’ve heard of 40 cloves of garlic chicken, but what about noodles? This recipe was inspired by Chrissy’s love of the Vietnamese garlic noodles with crab at Crustacean in Beverly Hills, which is supremely garlicky, surprisingly sweet, and lusciously buttery. We don’t know how many cloves they use in their noodles—it’s Chef An’s secret recipe—but we packed 40 cloves into ours. Two heads of garlic are roasted until sweet and caramelized, and the other is fried until crispy to top the dish with extra crunch. You only have to peel one head of garlic, and we have a hack for doing it in 30 seconds using a little water and the microwave for no sticky, papery mess. And instead of expensive crab we substituted shrimp seared in garlic oil, but you can also use any protein you like, or keep it vegetarian-ish with no protein or tofu. (To do that, you can find vegetarian “oyster” sauce at many Asian grocery stores, and try some caper brine instead of fish sauce!)

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INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS

3 heads garlic (will be about 40 cloves)
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola), divided
1 pound large (16–20 count) peeled, deveined shrimp
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon Cravings’ Chili Garlic seasoning (optional)
1 stick unsalted butter
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons Maggi seasoning or Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Chili Garlic sauce
1 pound fresh Chinese-style egg noodles, such as lo mein (or 8 ounces dried lo mein or thin udon)
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Make the roasted garlic: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the top ¼” off of two heads of garlic. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with salt. Wrap in foil, set on a sheet pan, and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until soft and caramelized. (The garlic is done when a center clove is completely soft when pierced with a paring knife.) Let the garlic cool slightly, then squeeze from the bottom of the bulb to push the cloves out of their paper into a bowl.
Make the crispy garlic garnish: For easy-to-peel garlic, add the remaining unpeeled head of garlic to a microwave-safe small bowl. Cover with cold water and microwave for 30 seconds to one minute. Carefully remove it from the hot water and chop off the bottom (root end) of the bulb. Your cloves should immediately separate and easily peel without any sticky, papery mess!
Roughly chop the remaining head of garlic using a knife or food processor. Add ¾ cup neutral oil and the chopped garlic to a small saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a silicone spatula, until the mixture begins to bubble, about 3 minutes. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides to prevent garlic from sticking and burning, until it turns pale golden brown, 6–8 minutes longer. Once it hits that color, immediately remove from the heat and strain into a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl—if you wait, it will overcook!
Let the crispy garlic drain on a paper towel–lined plate, and once cooled, store the garlic oil separately in a jar (or resealable container you don’t mind smelling like garlic) in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. (It will solidify in the fridge, but you can bring it to room temperature or heat up on the stove to use.)
Cook the shrimp: While the garlic is roasting, heat a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Season the shrimp with 1 tablespoon garlic oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, and ¼ teaspoon Chili Garlic seasoning (optional). Add another tablespoon of garlic oil to the skillet and then add the shrimp in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes (or until the shrimp turns pink and opaque), repeating the process if all of your shrimp didn’t fit in the first batch. Remove the shrimp from the pan to a plate and set aside. Wipe out the skillet to use to finish the dish.
Make the sauce: Smash the roasted garlic with a fork and then add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, Maggi seasoning, fish sauce, sesame oil, and Chili Garlic sauce. Stir to combine and set aside.
Finish the noodles: Boil the noodles according to package directions. (For fresh noodles, it will take 2–5 minutes; dried noodles can take between 8–10.) Heat the same skillet or wok you used to cook the shrimp over medium heat and melt the stick of butter. Add the noodles and toss to combine so every strand is coated. Let them sit and crisp for 3 minutes. Add the sauce and toss thoroughly, then add the shrimp and toss again. Garnish with crispy garlic and cilantro and serve.