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30 minute better than takeout Szechuan Noodles with Sesame Chili Oil. For those nights when you’re craving extra saucy Chinese inspired noodles, but don’t want to wait for take out. Szechuan style noodles with soy sauce, tangy rice vinegar, plenty of vegetables, and thick egg noodles…with the most addicting toasted sesame chili oil spooned over top. These quick and healthy vegetable-filled Chinese noodles can be made and ready in just about 30 minutes. Not only are they healthier, these Szechuan noodles taste so much better than your average take out!
When my oldest brother, Creighton is in town, my recipes tend to shift slightly. If it was just me eating, I’d probably be sharing roasted vegetable recipes, pizza, and pasta every other day. Because in my day-to-day life, those are my favorite foods. But the reason I love cooking so much is that I love cooking for others. I’ve said it many times, but I find the greatest joy in making others happy through food.
This means when friends and family are in town, I adjust. I make recipes that I know for a fact, they will find absolutely delicious.
Case in point, these noodles. My oldest brother is in town from Cleveland for a couple of weeks and staying with my parents. I’ve been getting multiple text messages throughout the day asking what I’m making…if he should stop by the studio and grab leftovers…what’s happening for dinner…did I make food…etc.
I mean, the messages are almost constant.
Clearly Creighton loves food. Actually, I think it might just be all he thinks about.
Anyway, I’ve been on a huge Chinese food kick lately, and Creigh LOVES any kind of saucy Chinese style noodle. So I had the idea to make some homemade spicy Szechuan noodles with a bit of ground chicken, vegetables, and sesame chili oil.
Turns out that my last-minute idea ended up being delicious. Plus, I love the fact that I actually got Creighton to willingly eat vegetables. Sure there are noodles and chicken involved, but if you know Creighton, then you know this is a step in the right direction!
Current goal in life? Get Creighton to eat and enjoy a completely vegetable filled meal with ZERO meat. Big goal.
I have been seeing multiple photos of thick-cut Chinese noodles all over Instagram recently from various restaurants. They look so good, but I have the hardest time finding anything like them here where I live in Colorado. Takeout options are very, very limited, so I often resort to making my own “fakeout” takeout.
It usually turns out pretty good. But you guys? These noodles? They are beyond good, and so simple too!
To start, you’ll have to make the chili oil. And while I know they sell chili oil in the store, this homemade chili oil is better. It’s full of peanut oil, garlic, ginger, chili flakes (use Sichuan or Korean chili flakes if you can find), and sesame seeds. It’s without a doubt my favorite sauce…at least of the moment.
Once you have the oil, the noodles come together in minutes. Brown up some ground chicken, which you can definitely omit if you prefer a vegetarian dish. Then add a little of the soy sauce mixture, red onion, baby bok choy, and thick-cut egg noodles. Toss it all up with some of that chili oil, and done! Simple, but SO flavorful and delicious.
If you wanted to omit the chicken and up the vegetable count, I would add chopped mushrooms and carrots along with the red onion. That will be so good.
And that’s kind of it.
These noodles will take you 30 minutes tops to make, and they’re truly a dinner everyone will love. The best part is that you can really adjust the recipe to your dietary needs. If you like eating vegetarian, opt out of the chicken. If you’re gluten-free, use rice noodles in place of the egg noodles.
Make the recipe work for you!
Love this Better than Takeout recipe and want to give another one a try? Try these 30 Minute Better Than Takeout Thai Drunken Noodles.
If you make these Better Than Takeout Szechuan Noodles with Sesame Chili Oil, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Better Than Takeout Szechuan Noodles with Sesame Chili oil.
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 353 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup peanut oil
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or smashed
- 1-2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
- 8 ounces Chinese egg noodles
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1-2 tablespoons chili paste (sambal oelek)
- 1/2 pound ground chicken or pork (optional)
- 1 red onion thinly, sliced
- 4 green onions, chopped, plus more for serving
- 4 baby bok choy or green cabbage, chopped
Instructions
- 1. To make the chili oil. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the peanut oil, garlic, ginger, and chili flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally until the garlic is fragrant, 5 minutes. Stir in the sesame seeds, cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and very carefully transfer the oil to a heat proof bowl or glass jar. 2. Meanwhile, cook the eggs noodles according to package directions. 3. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, chili paste, and 1/3 cup water in a bowl. 4. Place the skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken. Season with black pepper and brown all over, breaking it up as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add the red and green onions, and cook another 2-3 minutes. Slowly pour in the soy sauce mixture and add the bok choy. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the sauce coats the chicken, about 3-5 minutes. 5. Stir in the noodles and 2 tablespoons chili oil. Remove from the heat. Serve the noodles warm, topped with additional chili oil and green onions. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on February 27, 2019
I also followed recipe exactly, yet the chili oil was not what I expected. The garlic and ginger did not burn but turned dark brown and the sesame seeds absorbed the majority of the oil. As others have stated it was more of a paste which was difficult to combine uniformly with the noodles.
Hey Debbie, I am not really sure what is happening with your oil. I recommend doubling the amount of oil or using less sesame seeds. Did the oil taste burnt?
Absolutely delicious!! Thank you for such a great recipe.
Thank you Jessica! xTieghan
Forgot to add that I could not find these wide Chinese noodles shown, I did find Chinese egg noodles at a specialty store and they were great! This recipe makes a lot! Enough for 4 or 5?
I made this tonight,it was divine! For necessity sake i had to change a couple things. I used grapeseed oil instead of peanut oil,and ground pork in place of ground chicken. Also used cabbage instead of bok choy. Other than that I kept it the same and followed the instructions, loved the chili paste, great flavor, spicy but not too much, excellent dish, will definitely make it again! Thank you?
I am so glad you loved this recipe, Jennifer! Thank you! xTieghan
I very tasty. My only problem was the chile oil. Chile garlic and ginger tasted burned and all those sesame seeds absorbed the oil. I followed recipe exactly. I think I should have enough just simmered and maybe used more oil? The rest was yummy and I substituted with salmon.
hi there! Try simmering the oil only 5 minutes over a LOW heat and using either less sesame seeds or more oil if the seeds are soaking up all the oil. Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Made this tonight and loved it!!! Perfect use for the pint of mixed mushrooms I picked up from the farmers market this morning. I used chicken breast sliced thin and canola oil because they are what I had on hand.
I am so glad this turned out so well for you, Blair! Thank you! xTieghan
This recipe did not turn out as I hoped. My chili oil was actually a paste after I added the sesame seeds. The ginger and garlic didn’t infuse into the dish evenly leaving me with a bowl of bland soupy noodles. I substituted mushrooms and red bell pepper for the chicken. Next time forget the chili/sesame oil and put garlic and grated ginger in with soy sauce, drizzle with preprepared chili oil and toasted sesame seeds at the end.
Hi Marie! I am sorry this did not turn out well for you. I hope this works better with your modifications! xTieghan
Would you consider adding Sichuan peppercorns to this (the ones that numb your tongue)? Have a half pound bag of them from Amazon looking for a use.
HI! I am sure Sichuan peppercorns will be great in this recipe! Just be sure to use them to your heat liking. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Made this last night and it was awesome!! Every time I try a recipe of yours I declare it’s my new favorite and here we are again. It’s also only 9 points for Weight Watchers so double win! Keep up the amazing work.
That is so great! I am so glad you loved this Kate! Thank you! xTieghan
These turned out delicious!! I’ll definitely keep them in rotation.
Thank you so much Chelsea! I am so glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it turned out well! The noodles had a decent heat without overpowering the other flavors.
I used sesame oil (instead of peanut oil), Korean chili flakes (1.5 tsp), ground pork, bok choy, shallots (instead of red onion), and fresh flat Taiwanese noodles (had trouble finding flat egg noodles).
A few comments –
(i) Mixing the sesame seeds into the lower volume of chili oil was difficult. Does toasting it in the oil impart significant flavor?
(ii) With fresh noodles I ended up using 1lb instead of 8oz? The proportion of meat/veggies-to-noodles was fine, but the soy sauce mixture would have been liquidy for 8oz noodles
(iii) The honey didn’t dissolve well into the soy sauce mixture – I may try mixing it into warm water first next time
(iv) It seemed a bit backward to initially cook the ground meat and onions without any seasonings or sauces (except the black pepper)? The flavors did come together in the end, but I found the sequence odd
Hey Lauren, what happened to your sesame seeds? I like a saucy noodle, so this is why there is extra sauce. What kind of honey are you using? I have never had issues mixing honey with soy. Sorry you had some troubles, but glad you enjoyed the recipe all in all. Please let me know how I can help you further!
Tieghan, These were a smash hit tonight in my home. Thank you. I am slightly obsessed with your recipes. This is the 5th recipe I have made this week and they have all been well received! Thank you! JoAnna
I am so glad everyone loved this recipe JoAnna! Thank you so much! xTieghan
I want to make this tonight but do you recommend a sub for the peanut oil? Allergic to peanuts here! Would sesame oil instead be ok? Thanks!
HI! Sesame or olive oil will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I also have a question of the brand of egg noodle you use. I can’t find anything like that. Can you help us out a little bit? Thanks!
Hey Ben! I use Pappardelle. They work so well! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Mysonand I LOVED this!!! I wait for your recipe every day
And love the spicy meals. You have changed cooking for me. Now I am enjoying it again. Thank you and PLEASE keep those recipes coming!!!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Maureen! xTieghan