Vietnamese Garlic Noodles 2.0, the Umami Shiitake Recipe
+ MSG poll + Communion Wafer Nuns + RIP Mimi Sheraton + Welsh Rarebit/Rabbit
Happy Easter and Passover! Here’s my second installment on Vietnamese garlic noodles. Many people enjoyed the first part of this mini-series. In fact, my mom went to Trader Joe’s looking for fresh pasta. Kristin Donnelly, writer of the splendid MISSION: DINNER newsletter, made the garlic noodles with shrimp thrown in. As part of my promise for deep dives, the Maggi garlic noodle recipe, like the one discussed in this post, is for paid subscribers.
Onwards to more tangly, garlicky, buttery goodness.
Today, I’m sharing a garlic noodle recipe published in my 2019 cookbook, Vietnamese Food Any Day. Why did I wait that long after the first one in 2006? I was writing single-subject cookbooks on dumplings, tofu, banh mi, and pho. Garlic noodles didn’t fit into the mix. Thirteen years of distance gave me plenty of time for simmering on the subject. I noodled around here and there.
Thanh Long Garlic Noodle Secrets
On one occasion, on a business trip to San Francisco, I went to Thanh Long for a solo dinner. Seated at the bar, on a quiet weekday evening, I ordered garlic noodles, a salad and beer. The noodles were intensely rich and very garlicky. I couldn’t finish it all; it was likely meant to serve several people. I chatted up the bartender.
Rumor was that the noodles, a recipe sequestered in the family’s much publicized “Secret Kitchen”, came out of a pass-through window that opened and closed. Was that true?
The bartender said yes. He had worked there for a while and only knew that a lot of garlic was used. When he went home at night, his clothes always smelled like garlic, he said. (The image below is from an SFGate story.)
I drove home with leftovers in the trunk to contain their strong aroma. I slid the garlic noodles into the fridge, and the next day — because the to-go container wasn’t airtight, my fridge reeked like garlic. Leftovers were good, but oh boy, were they garlicky!
A while later, I queried a San Francisco chef friend about Thanh Long’s garlic noodles. He had a big network of family who worked in the city’s Asian restaurants. He didn’t know the recipe, and laughed heartily, offering that it likely contained lots of MSG.
Secret Recipes vs. Copycats, Restaurant vs. Home Cooking
The An family cookbook, published in 2016, did not include a recipe for the signature dish. The Ans held onto the recipe with a tight grip, explaining that it was part of their family’s legacy to be passed down through generations.
I understand the logic, from a restaurant perspective. It’s part of their brand. After all, McDonald’s special sauce on the Big Mac remains top secret. You can buy the Empress’ Cincinnati chili at one of the restaurants or in a can, but what exactly goes into the unique Midwest dish is unknown. Restaurant secret recipes attract customers and attention. Enter copycat recipes, which when done well, credit the original source and also empower home cooks.
When I developed my second garlic noodle recipe, I wasn’t trying to duplicate what Thanh Long made because I can’t and don’t want to. Restaurant food isn’t like home-cooked food. The ingredients, equipment, advance prep and cooking situation differ from what you and I experience in our kitchens. That said, home cooks have this advantage: In making small batches, we can carefully select ingredients (good garlic, noodles, and seasonings) and tinker and prepare them exactly to our liking, whenever we want.
My aim for the 2019 garlic noodles was to pack them with umami and not so much garlic as to destroy a date-night. I wanted something that tasted rich but not heavy.
MSG and Garlic Noodles
What makes Vietnamese garlic noodles so good is a balanced combination of glutamates sourced from staple seasonings, garlic, and monosodium glutamate (MSG). I long stayed away from strongly calling for MSG in my recipes because it’s a polarizing ingredient. However, I sneakily mention it in The Pho Cookbook as an option because some cooks say that pho isn’t pho without the magic seasoning crystals. In Vietnamese Food Any Day, I came out of the pantry, so to speak, in favor of MSG in my Umami Garlic Shiitake Noodles.
Vietnamese Food Any Day required only ingredients sold at mainstream supermarkets because that was book’s premise — no Asian market shopping required! Sounds like a game show, but it was a liberating approach to cookbook writing! Is MSG sold at mainstream grocers? Indeed it is. In the spice section, Look for small containers of Ac’cent tucked away in the low-key, lower shelves.
After numerous trials, I realized that you cannot send garlic noodles over the top without a flavor enhancer to add that special something, that je ne sais quoi. The mushroom contribute textural variety and extra umami. The condiments, each with a characteristic salty-sweetness, layer on flavor without overwhelming. The recipe was and remains delicious.
However, garlic noodles don’t scream “We’re Vietnamese” so we didn’t photograph the recipe for VFAD. But, the New York Times plucked it out of the book and Melissa Clark, a NYT columnist and an ace cookbook author, went multiple rounds with my garlic noodles. She tested all the MSG substitute options I provided in the recipe and the MSG came out on top. I share all of this with you because unless you have a diagnosed severe reaction to MSG, which is rare, you should try it.
If you have something extra to say . . .
Garlic and Noodle Pointers
In the one-pot recipe below, I incorporate a tip from Adriano, a friend and great Piedmontese cook: briefly soak minced garlic in water. The hydration prevents the garlic from burning because it slows down cooking. Here’s a tip from me — if you don’t already know this: if your garlic sprouts, remove the bitter growth in the center.
In the post on garlic noodle basics, I mentioned that the fresh linguine I used was more al dente than I liked. Here, I dropped the pasta in favor of dried Asian noodles, which cook up more tender than Italian noodles. Asian noodles have a springiness but they are relatively tender and able to absorb seasonings quite well and quickly.
Have I ever made my own noodles for garlic noodles? Earlier this week, Maia asked that question in a comment. No, I have not. Funny, I make fresh dumpling wrappers but not noodles. But if I were to make fresh noodles, I’d aim for an egg-noodle for tenderness and rich flavor. In the third part of this noodly series, I’ll discuss buying fresh Asian noodles.
3 Things before the Recipe
Mimi Sheraton, the first American restaurant critic to disguise herself while dining for work, recently passed. She was 97. I read her obituary to learn more about her but better yet was this spirited 2004 interview. (NYT gift link)
How Nuns Got Pushed out of the Communion Wafer Business (video) got me thinking about all the wafers I had at 8am Sunday Mass.
Food writer Charlotte Druckman dishes on the history of Welsh rarebit/rabbit and offers a modern recipe along with ideas for riffing. (WSJ gift link)
Below is my tasty supermarket recipe for Vietnamese garlic noodles. It’s for paid subscribers — my way of honoring their extra support of PTFS!
