Tainan Noodles Recipe (4-Ingredients Asian Noodles) (2024)

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A flavorful Chinese noodle dish made with simple ingredients and seasonings. This Tainan noodles recipe is the perfect last-minute recipe idea on busy nights. It's an easy recipe for when you are not in the mood for cooking, but don't want to eat canned food.

This Asian noodle dish recipe is inspired by one of the noodle products sold at Costco, Tainan-style noodles by Asha. It has the perfect seasoning made of soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.

You can serve this dry Tainan noodle by itself or with the toppings of your choice, such as egg or rotisserie chicken. Either way, these Tainan noodles will satisfy your hunger without extra work, and an added bonus is that it’s very budget-friendly.

Tainan Noodles Recipe (4-Ingredients Asian Noodles) (1)

This easy dry noodles recipe can be ready and on the dinner table in about 15 minutes. No chopping, no stir-frying, and very little preparation! The perfect easy meal for college students!

Don't throw away your leftovers, as you can pack this noodle dish for lunch or put it in the freezer to extend its shelf life.

Tainan Noodles Recipe (4-Ingredients Asian Noodles) (2)

Tainan Noodles Ingredients:

For best results, use fresh Chinese lo-mein style noodles (the same noodles that people use to make Dan Dan noodles). I understand that many of you may not have access to Asian dried pasta, so spaghetti or even tagliatelle would work great. If you are going to use dried pasta, be sure to add about ¼ teaspoon of baking soda per quart of water when cooking the pasta. It will give it a bouncier texture, and a flavor that’s similar to Chinese noodles.

Please note that noodle brands vary so much from one to the next. For that reason, you may need to make a few adjustments on the recipe ingredients to reach the desired taste.

Tainan Noodles Recipe (4-Ingredients Asian Noodles) (3)

Now, let's talk about the seasoning. The noodle is seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar. So simple, isn't it?

To add an extra kick of spiciness, feel free to add your favorite hot sauce to this dish. Sriracha sauce or Sichuan chili oil both work quite nicely.

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How to Make this Tainan Noodle Dish:

As I mentioned above, this dish doesn't require cooking skills nor a long cooking time. You only need to cook the pasta until al dente, then mix it in with the soy-based seasoning.

Tainan Noodles Recipe (4-Ingredients Asian Noodles) (4)

I've tried this recipe using different types of noodles and always had to make small adjustments to the amount of soy sauce and sugar. Therefore, I am going to list a lesser amount of those ingredients as a starting point for the noodles. If you think they still need some extra seasoning, feel free to adjust the amount of soy sauce, sugar, or salt until you reach your desire taste.

Another important thing to remember is that it's better to let the noodles soak in the soy sauce and absorb those wonderful flavors for a few minutes before serving.

I really hope that you'll enjoy this basic yet flavorful noodle dish recipe.

📖 Recipe

5 from 9 votes

Tainan Noodles

Rika

A flavorful Chinese noodle dish made with simple ingredients and seasonings. This Asian comfort food, Tainan noodles recipe is the perfect last-minute recipe idea on busy nights or when you are not in the mood for cooking.

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Prep Time 3 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 2

Calories 207 kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 oz noodles, (Lo-mein style noodles, thin noodles or Spaghetti)
  • ¾ - 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon white sugar
  • 2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • salt and pepper, (to taste)

Optional Toppings:

  • chopped green onions

Instructions

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions.

    Note: If you are going to use dried pasta, be sure to add about ¼ teaspoon of baking soda per quart of water when cooking the pasta.

  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk togethersoy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.

  • Drain the noodles and transfer to a bowl. Toss to coat the noodles with sauce. Taste and adjust the ingredients or use salt/pepper as needed.

    Let the noodles soak in the soy sauce and absorb those wonderful flavors for a few minutes before serving.

  • Serve with chopped green onions or any toppings of your choice. Enjoy!

Notes

If more soy sauce is needed, add by small increments of 1 teaspoon at a time. To add saltiness to the dish, just add a small amount of salt. Do not go overboard with soy sauce or all you’ll taste is soy sauce.

If more sugar is needed, add by small increments of ¼ teaspoon at a time.

Nutrition

Calories: 207kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 7gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 882mgPotassium: 128mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gCalcium: 9mgIron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Tainan Noodles Recipe (4-Ingredients Asian Noodles) (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient in Chinese noodles? ›

Sometimes additives like fat, alkalis, or other ingredients are incorporated into the dough to improve texture or to facilitate extensibility. The most common and traditional additive is a mysterious powder called penghui, which is derived from a desert plant called penghuicao (halogeton).

What ingredients are Asian noodles usually made from? ›

Traditionally, Asian noodles are made with flour milled from common wheat, rice flour, or starch from a tuber or bean. Because traditional Asian noodles use softer flours and starches than pasta, most noodles employ salt as a binding agent, whereas Italian pasta typically forgoes salt.

What ingredients do some chefs used to make Asian noodles? ›

The noodles are made from various flours, such as wheat flour, rice flour, potato flour, soybean flour, and mung bean flour. Some Asian noodles are made with eggs but many do not contain any eggs. Many are available fresh and dried but some are only found in Asian markets.

Why do Chinese noodles taste different? ›

Asian noodles can be made with rice, yam, and mung bean in addition to wheat flour, and even that wheat is a different variety than the durum wheat used in pasta. All of these differences in texture and flavor mean you usually can't substitute an Italian pasta for an Asian noodle.

What is the difference between Chinese noodles and lo mein noodles? ›

Lo mein usually uses the fat, chewy noodles, while chow mein uses the thin type of noodles that sometimes contain egg.” Lo mein uses fresh noodles that are boiled for a few minutes, while chow mein uses dried noodles that are parboiled for five to six minutes.

What are Korean noodles made of? ›

Noodles in Korea can be made from sweet potato starch, wheat flour, buckwheat, corn flour, rice flour, and acorn flour to name a few. In general, a number of Korean noodle dishes offer a variation on the meats, broths, vegetables, and noodles used.

What are the ingredients in Japanese noodles? ›

Types of Japanese noodles. Ramen are thin, wheat-based noodles made from wheat flour, salt, water, and kansui, a form of alkaline water. The dough is risen before being rolled. They were imported from China during the Meiji period.

What is Japanese noodles made of? ›

Ramen is the strongest example of how Chinese cuisine made its way into Japan. These noodles are typically made from flour, salt, water, and alkaline mineral water called “kansui”, which gives the noodles their distinctive chewy texture and flavor.

Where did tainan noodles come from? ›

Ta-a mi (Chinese: 擔仔麵; pinyin: dànzǎimiàn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tàⁿ-á-mī; lit. 'shoulder pole noodle'), also known as Ta-a noodles or danzai noodles, is a type of snack found in Tainan, Taiwan. Also known as "Slack Season Ta-a Noodles", they originated in Tainan (in southern Taiwan), about 130 years ago.

What does a sha tainan noodles taste like? ›

Tastes simple. The noodles are just wheat flour, salt and water. The sauce is just shoyu and sesame oil.

What are Taiwanese noodles made of? ›

Mitaimu is Taiwanese Rice Noodles. They are made with rice flour and tapioca flour.

How to make noodles taste like Chinese takeaway? ›

Chicken bouillon powder brings a rich umami flavour to the noodles. The secret behind the delicious Chinese takeaway plain noodles is the' Msg '. So if you wish to taste your chow mein like takeaway, you will need to add msg or chicken powder.

What are the crunchy Chinese noodles called? ›

Mein gon (面干 miàn-gān), informally referred to as crunchy noodles or crunchy chow mein, are a type of noodle-shaped cracker (or dried biscuit) used in American Chinese cuisine.

Which soy sauce is best for noodles? ›

Using natural fermentation methods, light soy sauce has strong aromatic umami and savoury flavour. Making it ideal as a marinade, dressing, sauce mix and table condiment. It is a great addition to stir-fry recipes, noodles dishes and even our own burger recipe!

What does baking soda do in Chinese food? ›

This is how to tenderise beef with a Chinese restaurant method called “velveting beef”. Also used for chicken, it's a simple, highly effective technique using baking soda that transforms economical beef so it's incredibly tender in stir fries and stir fried noodles.

What is the secret ingredient in stir fry? ›

According to Food & Wine, ketchup is the ultimate way to take the flavor of homemade stir fry up a level, thanks to its sweet and sour flavor profile. It just might be the easiest cooking hack to elevate your home cooking to that of your favorite take-out.

Why Chinese noodles are usually served with vinegar? ›

Chinese cuisine often incorporates vinegar for several reasons, including its ability to enhance flavors, balance the taste profile of a dish, and offer various health benefits.

References

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