Uncle's Soy Sauce Noodles

As first generation immigrants, my parents not only worked most weekends trying to make ends meet but also prioritised my education. Like most Vietnamese kids our age, my brother and I were enrolled in weekly math and Vietnamese tuition classes that ran every Saturday morning (also known as Saturday school).

By the time our Uncle Tai, a chef by trade, picked us up we’d be starving, and one quick, inexpensive and easy meal he often served up was his soy sauce noodles. Uncle Tai would effortlessly whip up these soy sauce noodles in under 15 minutes.

Egg noodles are wheat based and typically found in the wonton wrapper section of your local Asian supermarket. A nifty trick Uncle Tai once showed me was to dehydrate the egg noodles before boiling them to achieve a giòn (yourng) and dai (yai) texture - al dente with a bit of crisp. Similar to fresh egg pasta, they cook in no time at all and can absorb a sauce when prepared together at the right temperature.

Uncle Tai’s soy sauce based concoction was the elixir that brought these egg noodles to life. With just over a handful of ingredients, it transformed a bowl of boiled noodles into an egg noodle dish intertwined with a convivial duo of flavours from soy sauce and garlic oil. He often served the noodles with a side of roasted duck, fried eggs or braised chicken feet.

If you only have 15 minutes, and you’re craving fresh noodles packed with flavour, check this recipe out and do yourself a favour, for flavour!