9 Quick Noodle Dinners Ready in 20 Minutes or Less
Serious Eats presents nine noodle recipes designed for speed and flavor, each taking 20 minutes or less to prepare, offering an alternative to takeout.
When time is short and hunger is high, these nine noodle recipes promise a faster, more flavorful alternative to delivery. Serious Eats has compiled a list of dishes that each come together in 20 minutes or less, aiming to provide more satisfaction than a typical takeout order.
Speedy Broth and Stir-Fry Classics
A 15-minute miso butter ramen upgrades instant noodles by replacing the seasoning packet with miso and soy sauce for deeper umami. Emulsifying butter into the broth improves its texture, while bok choy and an egg turn it into a balanced meal. For a rich, simple option, peanut butter noodles involve melting peanut butter and lard in a microwave before whisking them with garlic oil, dark soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil.
Two iconic stir-fries also make the cut. Char kway teow, a popular Malaysian dish, sees broad noodles fried at high heat with shrimp, fish cakes, and lard for a smoky flavor, finished with Chinese sausage and egg. Mie goreng, an Indonesian fried noodle dish recreated by Pat Tanumihardja, uses a white spice paste called bumbu dasar putih, kecap manis, and soy sauce, stir-fried with readily available vegetables like cabbage and carrots.
Pantry and Vegetable-Packed Meals
A stir-fry of rice noodles with eggs and greens relies on pantry staples. After scrambling eggs and sautéing greens, a quick sauce of garlic, chile flakes, scallions, and soy sauce brings everything together. Another vegetable-forward recipe is a stir-fried chow mein with four vegetables. The dish features thin noodles and scallions in a light sauce, amplified by crunchy additions like julienned carrots and bean sprouts for even, quick cooking.
Cold Noodle Specialties
Cold noodle dishes offer a different kind of quick meal. Lucas Sin developed a Chinese cold noodle salad with a versatile sesame dressing. The key is a vinaigrette of soy sauce, homemade aromatic oil, vinegar, and sugar, with sesame paste providing a nutty, creamy emulsion. A cold Sichuan-style noodle dish incorporates a significant amount of blanched, ribbon-cut spinach, which the source says absorbs the spicy, acidic sauce even better than the noodles. For nuanced heat, making your own chile oil is recommended.
A Brothless Ramen Variation
The final recipe is an XO mazemen, a brothless ramen topped with XO sauce-a condiment made from dried seafood, ham, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Store-bought or homemade XO sauce is combined with snap peas for crunch and an egg to complete the meal. All recipes emphasize technique, from emulsifying sauces to high-heat stir-frying, as the deciding factor for a successful, fast dinner.
