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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!
I made these and they were AMAZING! I passed the recipe on to 2 other friends who raved about them as well. Definitely the best thing I’ve made in a while, so thank you!!
I also had some of the oil leftover and have been putting it on everything – the flavours are so delicious!! I’m considering just keeping some of that in the fridge as a condiment… 🙂
I made a few modifications – I diced up some chicken breast because I didn’t have any ground meat, and I used broad rice noodles (along with GF-soy sauce) to keep it gluten-free for a food allergy.
Aw thank you so much for that Caitlin! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! I hope your friends love it just as much! xTieghan
This was absolutely delicious!! After over a month in quarantine I’ve been craving take out and this hit the spot! I made my own noodles, and I didn’t have peanut oil so I used half vegetable oil, half sesame oil and it was fine. I’ll definitely be making this again!
Thank you so much Kat! That is so great to hear! xTieghan
This was my first try at cooking Asian cuisine and it turned out so good! Definitely will Make this again! Thanks for the awesome recipe
Thank you so much for trying this one! I hope you are staying well! xTieghan
Made this last night.
Mind blown. I wanted to lick the pot, it was so good. I found some wide egg noodles and some small egg noodles and just mixed it up.
I highly recommend the oil. Because it was so good!!
I am really glad you got to try this one, Laura! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Amazing recipe I had to use sesame oil instead of peanut oil it tasted and smelt fantastic. Easy to follow recipes with fantastic results every time
I gave told all my friends who cook About this site
Hi Ruth! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! Also, thank you for sharing it!! I hope you are staying healthy! xTieghan
I made this tonight and we loved it. I did make some minor changes. I added carrots sliced paper thin on my mandoline and shredded cabbage. I also kept the noodles separate and tossed some chili oil in them. Then we put them in individual bowls and ladled the meat, veg and sauce mix on top and then green onions. That way the leftovers won’t have sticky mushy noodles. It was delicious
Hi Melody! That is so amazing to hear! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
So so so good! Only thing is that I wish the sauce was thicker but still delicious!! Definitely will keep this recipe in my rotation!
Thank you so much Alyssa! xTieghan
What oil could you use if you don’t have peanut oil? Love everything you do! Thanks!
Hi Katie! Sesame or olive oil will both work in place of the peanut oil. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
It got soupy with the 1/3 cup of water. Should I omit that from the sauce?
Hi Vanessa,
So sorry you had issues with the sauce. I would recommend simmering on low to thicken the sauce. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Just made it for dinner. It’s absolutely gorgeous!
Thank you Cristina! xTieghan
What other oil can I use if I don’t have peanut? Thank you!!!!
Hi Karen,
You can use sesame oil in place of the peanut oil. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Delicious and so many layers of flavor!
Thank you so much Melissa! xTieghan
This is seriously delicious! That chilli oil – wow! Because of the coronavirus panic buying, my local store didn’t have ground chicken or egg noodles, so I swapped out for chopped chicken breast and udon noodles, and it still worked! Will definitely make this again.
Amazing! I am so glad you made this work with what you could buy! Thank you so much Katie! xTieghan
Hello, I live in Romania where there is no Chinese Noodles, but plenty of italian pastas… what would you recommend using?
This recipe is absolutely amazing. I do a lot of Asian cooking so I could tell that the ingredients would work very well together. The sesame chili oil was a fabulous component- added a very flavorful dimension to the dish. We couldn’t stop raving about it as we ate it. We also made fresh pappardelle for it and I’m sure that took it to another level as well. I was really impressed and this will definitely be making it into the regular rotation. So delicious. I wish I could add our pics but I don’t see how. A lot of times the end result doesn’t look much like the photos from the posted recipe, but ours was very similar to yours.
Oh wow! This is so amazing to hear! I am so glad you all enjoyed this recipe so much and I hope you continue to! Thank you! xTieghan