Spaghetti is always good whether it's with a traditional marinara sauce or just con burro with butter. yet they go to a new level with an Vietnamese - American spin on them.It's a tasty and relatively easy way to enjoy this classic pasta.
Regular contributor and chef, J. Kenji Lopez Alt wrote about them in yesterday's New York Times Food section. They were the creation of Helen An at Thanh Long Restaurant in San Francisco and have become a much beloved classic of the city. It all started with Ms. An's family the Trans fleeing North Vietnam in 19955 and settling in the South Vietnamese city of Dalat. Twenty years later she was forced to flee again, this time with her husband and three daughters to San Francisco. It was here where they arrived penniless to live with her mother-in-law Diana, a small deli owner. Thanh Long's history is murky. Elizabeth An, Helen's daughter claimed her grandmother bought an Italian deli however there is an ad from 1971 promoting it as a Vietnamese one. Ms. An who had experience in both Chinese and French cuisine felt the restaurant would have more success if the dishes appealed to a local clientele. A disappointing dinner at a Nob Hill Italian restaurant gave birth to the garlic noodles.It a mix of whole wheat noodle sauteed with fistfuls of garlic and a blend of fish oyster, and soy sauces.
Chef Kenji Lopez puts his own spin on it. He uses spaghetti instead of the whole wheat noodle - a nod to its' Italian roots. and another innovation, cooking them in a skillet. Gone is the big pot filled with quarts of boiling water. It also means more concentrated pasta water which provides for a tasty plate. He cooks it for two minutes shorter than recommended for a chewy al dente texture and then transfers it to a wok or saucepan. The flavor comes from the addition of four tablespoons of butter (or a plant based one like Melt). There is a lot of garlic - namely twenty cloves, mashed in a mortar and pestle . You could lessen it by half if it's not to your liking. It's then time to add the sauces. Keep in mind this will have a briny , fish flavor, thanks to the fish and oyster sauce. Chef Lopez-Alt uses four teaspoons of the oyster and two for the fish and soy. However you can adjust the amounts depending on your taste. It seems like a dish that can constantly be adjusted with each make,Scallions are added for color and flavor and Pecorino Romano cheese for more flavor.
Garlic noodles are an interesting spin on spaghetti. Try them for a different type of pasta dinner.It's a nice change up from the usual.
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