35 Best Ways To Eat Asian-Inspired Noodles (2024)

Pad see ew is on everyone’s top 10 Thai dishes list, and after you give it a try, you’ll understand why. The combination of thinly sliced, wok-seared meat, Chinese broccoli, and the signature wide, chewy rice noodles will make this Southeast Asian specialty an instant favorite. It comes together just like any other stir-fry, starting with marinated protein, stir-frying the noodles and sauce, and ending with tossing it all together. For a full Thai feast, whip up a batch of green papaya salad or summer rolls.

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Originating from Chinese Sichuan cooking, dan dan noodles were named for the carrying pole (aka dan dan) that street vendors used to carry baskets of noodles and sauce. While sometimes served as a soup in China, American versions are usually more saucy than soupy, and often include sesame paste, peanut butter, or tahini, like ours does.

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There are lots of ways to add spice to your meals, but when we’re looking for something really special, we turn to Sichuan peppercorns. These peppers bring a unique herbal spice with a gentle numbing effect to the lips and tongue. Paired with a few other unexpected ingredients, these peppercorns add new intrigue to the old standby of pesto and pasta.

Get the Sichuan Pesto Noodles recipe.

Yakisoba belongs on the stir-fried noodle dish Mount Rushmore. Yakisoba is an insanely popular dish that first started appearing in Japanese food stalls in the 1940s. When you think of soba noodles you may be reminded of the buckwheat noodles often served cold with a dipping sauce, but in Yakisoba, the noodles are made of wheat and resemble something similar to what you'd see in a lo mien. The noodles are often cooked on big flat top griddles, chock full of all type of ingredients from pork belly to kimchi. We went with chicken for this recipe but feel free to throw in whatever you like!

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Chef Leah Cohen, who owns the restaurants Pig & Khao and Piggyback in New York City, showcases her recipe for khao soi, a textural Northern Thai noodle soup that layers crispy noodles over soft noodles in a savory curry. Cohen, who appeared on Top Chef season 5, says that khao soi was the first dish on the menu at Pig & Khao, and that 10 years later, it’s still a featured dish that won’t be leaving the menu any time soon.

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Skip bringing the traditional pasta salad to the summer potluck. This pasta salad has a creamy peanut dressing and is full of fresh, crunchy veggies with no mayonnaise in sight. It’s just as simple to make and is as delicious hot as it is cold, which means you can easily make it ahead of time.

Get the Thai Peanut Chicken Pasta Salad recipe.

An easy alternative to takeout, our simplified Pad Thai recipe is designed to satisfy noodle cravings fast. Ubiquitous in Thai cuisine in the United States, our simplified recipe stacks up closer to the American-Thai renditions of this dish than the versions you would find in Thailand. Any beginner cook can accomplish this recipe, too! But it's important to note that we skipped some traditional ingredients (such as dried shrimp, tamarind, pressed tofu, and bean sprouts), opting for ingredients that you can pick up at your local grocery store. Absolutely necessary for our recipe: fish sauce. It's easy to find at nearly every grocery store, and it adds an unbeatable punch of umami goodness.

Get the Easy Pad Thai recipe.

Braised pork belly, aka a little slice of heaven, is the star in this amazing homemade ramen. Making ramen from scratch is pretty darn elaborate, but we promise your patience will be more than rewarded.

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Traditional Bolognese sauce might take forever to cook, but this weeknight version is done in just 30 minutes. Delicate and earthy miso paste adds serious depth to the ground beef sauce.

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Pan- fried noodles go through a two-step tango to reach peak pleasure: first they’re quickly boiled and then they’re thrown into the wok to get their crispiness. It’s in the burning crucible of this wok, endowed with wok hei, that the noodles develop their fragrant satisfying character, commingling under such high temperature with the soy sauce, wine, oil, sugar, and herbs. If anyone asks you which dish embodies Cantonese cooking’s high-wire act, it’s this one.

Get the Pan-Fried Noodles in Superior Soy Sauce recipe.

Few soups are as comforting as a heaping bowl of pho. The Vietnamese beef-bone based soup is usually chock-full of noodles, fresh herbs, and any number of toppings like cilantro, bean sprouts, thinly sliced round eye, or even meatballs. And with a broth that typically is an all-day affair, your Instant Pot comes in clutch to cut that cook time way down.

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This quick and satisfying meal lands somewhere between savory instant ramen and creamy peanut noodles. Throw in your favorite raw veggies for a dish that's healthy, filling, and delicious. (The trifecta!) For a little extra oomph, whisk in part of a ramen flavor packet little by little, tasting and adjusting along the way.

Get the Warm Tahini Ramen Noodles recipe.

Jjamppong is a classic Korean spicy seafood noodle soup with Korean-Chinese roots. Filled with seafood, meat, and vegetables, Jjamppong is also served with Chinese-style egg noodles. The rich broth is flavored with garlic, ginger, gochujaru (aka, Korean red chili flakes), and gochujang (fermented chili paste). If you don't keep gochujang on hand already, it's time to start. It has a deep, spicy flavor perfect on everything from Korean fried chicken to tteokbokki (Korean rice cakes).

Get the Jjamppong (Korean Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup) recipe.

What we love about this dish is that instead of ending up with a noodle soup, you get this semi-cooked, slightly crunchy noodle stir-fry that combines the best parts of munching on dry instant ramen (we all do it!) and eating pan-fried noodles. It’s like no amped-up ramen you’ve ever had before. Also, this recipe is made for tinkering: Add more veggies, throw a runny soft-boiled egg on top, nix the peanuts, spritz on more lime juice.... Choose your own Malaysian ramen adventure.

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Mongolian beef is a popular American-Chinese takeout dish made with thin slices of flank steak, accompanied by veggies, spiked with ginger, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and scallions. Tossed with another nostalgic favorite, ramen noodles, this is instant comfort in a skillet.

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There are three types of khao soi in Southeast Asia, and they hail from Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. They're all very different, but let's talk about the khao soi from Thailand. Thai khao soi is commonly found in Northern Thailand and is filled with several dried spices. Chiang Mai is one of the cities that celebrates this dish from every corner; everyone there says they make the best Thai khao soi. This style was created when Chinese Muslims migrated to the north and introduced khao soi with coconut milk, chicken, tender noodles, and spices. It's a delicious noodle soup that with a variety of textures and fresh flavors.

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With soy sauce-infused flank steak and broccoli, these rice noodles are packed with flavor. This sauce is truly legendary too, so use it whenever you can: on roasted Brussels sprouts, baked salmon, or with chicken tenders.

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Laksa, the spicy and aromatic coconut curry noodle soup that hails from Malaysia, is one of our favorite ways to get our fill of noodles. Laksa paste is a type of curry paste traditionally found in Southeast Asian cuisine, best known as the flavorful base for the rich and spicy coconut broth soup. Broadly speaking, laksa paste typically contains chilis, nuts, shrimp, lemongrass, and spices. And while it can be made from scratch, we streamlined this version using the prepared kind to make this a weeknight winner.

Get the Chicken Curry Laksa with Shrimp recipe.

Chow mein is one our go-to for all types of meals, not just for its incredible flavor but its major customizability. We love this variation with tender, flavorful chicken but you can add whatever you like from kimchi to bacon to jalapeños! Best of all, this only takes around 30 minutes to make, making it perfect for any weeknight.

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Two of our favorite regional pasta dishes come together to make your taste buds zing. Start with Southeast Asian flair from a Thai Drunken Noodle base made of oyster sauce and fish sauce. Combine that with a classic creamy Italian carbonara of pappardelle pasta and pancetta, and you’ll be as amazed as we were. We can’t explain it, this just works.

Get the Thai Drunken Carbonara Noodles recipe.