These garlic chili oil noodles are so flavorful and delicious! Rice noodles tossed with fried garlic, chili oil, cilantro, lime juice, and more, this easy recipe is the best!
So, this is not exactly the classic "chili oil noodles" that you may find at a restaurant. This recipe is actually inspired by the Italian dish, aglio e olio, which means garlic and oil. I wanted to try to take that recipe and swap each ingredient for its Asian-inspired counterpart. So, instead of parsley we do cilantro, instead of red pepper flakes we do chili oil, etc.
This is seriously one of my all time favorite recipes, and it comes together in no time! Add more or less of chili oil or cilantro according to your taste preferences!
Table of Contents:
🎥 Watch the video of this recipe
🥢 Why you'll love Garlic Chili Oil Noodles
- Savory and Flavorful - This recipe comes out to be super savory, salty, garlicky, and fresh with flavor!
- SO Easy - The ingredients for this recipe are so simple and straightforward! Just don't burn the garlic and you'll be good!
- Gluten-Free and Vegan - Since this dish uses rice noodles and doesn't use soy sauce, it is both gluten-free and vegan naturally!
🥘 What you need for this recipe
Ingredients and Substitutions:
- Rice Noodles - Use whatever width of rice noodles you like. I used the "linguine" shape which is often labeled as pad thai rice noodles. Regular noodles can be used in place as well.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Make sure you use a good quality olive oil, and feel free to use a garlic infused oil if you want a more intense flavor!
- Garlic Cloves - Fresh garlic cloves, thinly sliced, not the pre-minced garlic.
- Toasted Sesame Oil - This gives a great nutty sesame flavor to the noodles. Regular sesame oil can be used as well, or omit entirely.
- Fresh Cilantro - If you don't like cilantro, omit entirely OR use fresh chopped parsley.
- Lime - A squeeze of fresh lime juice ties this dish together. You can substitute with lemon or omit entirely.
- Chili Garlic Oil - Also optional, this condiment adds a little bit of a spicy kick and extra garlic flavor. Red pepper flakes work great in its place.
Equipment:
📋 How to make Garlic Chili Oil Noodles
Step 1: Prepare the Noodles
Cook your rice noodles by boiling them until soft or by soaking them in hot water for 30-45 minutes. Refer to the instructions on the package. Boiling will be the fastest method.
Once the noodles are cooked through, drain them and rinse with cool water.
How to cook rice noodles in the Instant Pot:
If you want to cook rice noodles in your instant pot, add 4 ounces of rice noodles with 1 ½ cups cold water. Close the lid and set to sealing. Pressure cook on HIGH for 1 minute, then immediately quick release. Stir the cooked noodles, drain, and rinse with cool water. If the noodles are not 100% cooked after removing the lid, set the Instant Pot to 'sauté' and let it simmer for a few more minutes.
Place cooked noodles in a bowl to the side.
Step 2: Make the Sauce
Begin by slicing garlic cloves very thinly, longways.
Add olive oil to a pan and bring it to medium heat, then add the sliced garlic.
Stir the garlic in the oil on low-medium heat until very tiny bubbles begin to form. If the oil starts to pop or boil, it is too hot.
Once the garlic is beginning to cook, add the chili garlic oil and mix that in.
Then, stir in the toasted sesame oil.
Keep cooking and stirring slowly. Once the garlic cloves turn a light gold, immediately turn off the heat.
Add a small amount of cool water (2-3 tablespoons) to the pan off the heat to cool down the oil and stop the cooking of the garlic.
Step 3: Finishing Touches
To the pan of garlic and oil, add the cooked rice noodles and stir until the noodles are fully coated in oil.
Finely chop fresh cilantro and toss the noodles with the cilantro.
Finally, add the juice of ½ a lime and a ½ teaspoon of salt.
Toss to combine, serve hot, and garnish with more cilantro and chili garlic oil.
💭 Expert Tips & Tricks
- I prefer my rice noodles to be on the softer and less al dente side. To get softer noodles, use the boil or Instant Pot methods. For more al dente rice noodles, with a bit more of a bite to them, I suggest soaking them in very warm water at the beginning of the cooking process.
- If you like extra spice, double the amount of chili garlic oil and use even more to top the dish. If you don't like spicy, the amount used in this recipe shouldn't be too much, but feel free to decrease if necessary.
- Be very careful when frying the garlic. If the oil gets too hot, the garlic will quickly burn, but you still want it to be hot enough to get it crispy. You want it to be hot enough to form very small bubbles around the garlic (as shown in the photos above), but not large rolling bubbles. Keep an eye on the heat level and adjust as necessary throughout.
Recipe FAQs
Garlic chili oil can go with just about any food you like! It goes great with Asian foods like dumplings, noodles, and rice, but it could be good on just about anything.
Chili garlic oil can be quite spicy, but it varies by brand. I have tried a bunch and I like the chili oil by Xi'an Famous Foods the best, but that may not be your favorite. As always, start with a small amount and add more to your taste preference.
Yes! Within two hours after cooking, place the leftover noodles in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for 4-7 days. Always inspect leftovers for impurities before consuming.
Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Garlic Chili Oil Noodles (with Cilantro)
Equipment
- Large pan
- Knife
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 8 ounces Rice noodles
- 1 teaspoon Chili oil
- ½ tablespoon Toasted sesame oil
- 1½ tablespoon Cilantro Chopped, fresh
- ½ Lime juiced
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2-3 tablespoon Water to cool the oil
Instructions
- Cook your rice noodles by boiling them until soft or by soaking them in hot water for 30-45 minutes. Refer to the instructions on the package. Boiling will be the fastest method.
- Once the noodles are cooked through, drain them and rinse with cool water.
- If you want to cook rice noodles in your instant pot, add 4 ounces of rice noodles with 1 ½ cups cold water. Close the lid and set to sealing. Pressure cook on HIGH for 1 minute, then immediately quick release. Stir the cooked noodles, drain, and rinse with cool water. If the noodles are not 100% cooked after removing the lid, set the Instant Pot to 'sauté' and let it simmer for a few more minutes.
- Place cooked noodles in a bowl to the side and pat dry.
- Begin by slicing garlic cloves very thinly, longways.
- Add olive oil to a pan and bring it to medium heat, then add the sliced garlic.
- Stir the garlic in the oil on low-medium heat until very tiny bubbles begin to form. If the oil starts to pop or boil, it is too hot.
- Once the garlic is beginning to cook, add the chili garlic oil and mix that in.
- Then, stir in the toasted sesame oil.
- Keep cooking and stirring slowly.
- Once the garlic cloves turn a light gold, immediately turn off the heat to prevent burning
- Add a small amount of cool water (2-3 tablespoons) to the pan off the heat to cool down the oil and stop the cooking of the garlic.
- To the pan of garlic and oil, add the cooked rice noodles and stir until the noodles are fully coated in oil. Make sure the noodles are mostly dry before adding.
- Finely chop fresh cilantro and toss the noodles with the cilantro.
- Finally, add the juice of ½ of a lime and a ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Toss to combine, serve hot, and garnish with more cilantro and chili garlic oil.
Video
Notes
- I prefer my rice noodles to be on the softer and less al dente side. To get softer noodles, use the boil or Instant Pot methods. For more al dente rice noodles, with a bit more of a bite to them, I suggest soaking them in very warm water at the beginning of the cooking process.
- If you like extra spice, double the amount of chili garlic oil and use even more to top the dish. If you don't like spicy, the amount used in this recipe shouldn't be too much, but feel free to decrease if necessary.
- Be very careful when frying the garlic. If the oil gets too hot, the garlic will quickly burn, but you still want it to be hot enough to get it crispy. You want it to be hot enough to form very small bubbles around the garlic (as shown in the photos above), but not large rolling bubbles. Keep an eye on the heat level and adjust as necessary throughout.
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