Sang An for The New York Times. Food Stylist; Simon Andrews.

These noodles, adapted from the cookbook "The Wok" by J. Kenji López-Alt, and based on the noodle dish originally created and served by Helene An at San Francisco’s Thanh Long restaurant, are extraordinarily simple and delicious on their own, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fancy them up a bit. They go very well with seafood, and some raw, shell-​on shrimp stir-​fried along with the garlic right from the start would be an excellent addition. Recently, I’ve taken to adding a few spoonfuls of tarako or mentaiko — ​Japanese salted pollock roe. Sushi-​style flying fish roe (tobiko) or salmon roe (ikura) would also be a great addition, as would chunks of crab or lobster meat, or even Western-​style caviar (if you’re feeling flush).

Featured in: These Garlic Noodles Cross Cultures, But Are Deeply San Franciscan. 

1 hour, plus 14 to 20 hours’ resting

About 1 1/2 hours, plus soaking and resting

4 hours, plus 13 hours’ to 3 days’ resting

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