This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Those plump, chewy scissor-cut noodles you keep seeing everywhere? You won’t believe how easy those homemade noodles are to make! And, as well as showing you how to make them we’ve transformed them into a recipe for Spicy Scissor-Cut Noodles with Garlicky Chilli Oil and Pak Choi to make the perfect plant-based dinner.
I don’t know about you, but I love the sort of easy dinner where I can make something in advance, and then just throw it all together at the last minute. These easy chilli oil noodles are just that: you can make the dough and leave it to rest when you’ve got a moment, and when it is time to eat you can simply snip it into the pan to make a couple of servings of wonderfully chewy vegan noodles, ready to be tossed in a simple sauce and served with some greens.
Aside from the 30 minutes you need to rest the dough, they also only take half an hour to make!
And once you’ve mastered them, they’re ready to be paired with all sorts of different sauces.
Ingredients
- plain flour (also sold as all-purpose flour)
- water
- sea salt (while we love flaky sea salt for finishing dishes, fine sea salt will work best in the noodle dough)
- sunflower oil (or another neutral tasting oil with a high smoke point)
- pak choi (or any other Asian leafy vegetable that stir fries well – when it is in season, we’re particually partial to tatsoi)
- fresh garlic
- fresh red chilli
- dried chilli flakes (try to use the freshest possible for the best tasting oil)
- soy sauce (or tamari)
- runny honey (or maple syrup)
- gochujang (try to buy an imported brand – these are usually sold in tubs rather than jars – because we have yet to taste a supermarket gochujang with that authentic Korean flavour!)
- fresh lime juice
How To Make Scissor Cut Noodles
Seriously, I know I keep on saying this but you won’t believe how easy these spicy scissor-cut noodles are to make until you’ve tried them!
Here is how to make scissor-cut noodles:
- Mix the dough
Mix together the flour, water and a pinch of salt in a bowl with a spoon, then bring the dough together with your hands.
- Knead the dough
Tip out onto the work surface and knead for a couple of minutes. If the dough feels a bit dry, wet your hands and massage.
- Leave to rest
Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Cut the noodles
Once the dough has rested using a pair of scissors, slice thin strips off the dough until it has all been used up.
- Cook the noodles
Bring a pan of water to the boil, add a dash of sunflower oil and cook the noodles until they rise to the top. Drain and toss in a little oil to prevent them sticking together. Now, they’re ready to toss with your favourite sauce!
Serving Suggestions
We’ve kept things simple by serving these snipped noodles with stir-fried pak choi, but you can treat them like any other noodle and dress them up with all sorts of different sauces and sides. A few suggestions:
- Add them to ramen bowls instead of using regular noodles.
- They’re the perfect replacement for ready to wok udon noodles in our Sesame Chicken Udon recipe!
- To the noodles and pak choi you can always add a few Thai Chicken Burgers, a Baked Sea Bass Parcel or some Japanese Braised Sticky Pork Belly on the side for some extra protein.
- Jammy eggs would also make a great addition!
Frequently Asked Questions
Please try this homemade one, you won’t believe how good it is! But, for a quick fix you can of course use your favorite – we really like White Mausu’s Black Bean Rayu. You’ll need 3-4 tbsp, and be sure to add extra soy sauce or salt, and lime juice or rice wine vinegar if you think your brand of sauce needs a little extra oomph!
Don’t think this delicious sauce should be reserved only for scissor-cut / knife-cut noodles! You can also use it to cook udon noodles, or even egg pappardelle which is a great cheats substitute for handmade thick cut noodles.
You Might Also Enjoy
- Teriyaki Salmon Rice Bowl Recipe with Spicy Mango Salsa
- Spicy Korean-inspired Gochujang Fishcakes
- Best Spicy Ground Pork Ramen Recipe
- Spicy Honey Salmon Bowls with Coconut Rice
- Thai-inspired Sesame Fish Cakes
Spicy Scissor-Cut Noodles with Chilli Oil and Pak Choi
Ingredients
For the Noodles
- 200 g plain flour
- 100 ml water
- sea salt
- sunflower oil
- 2 heads of pak choi
For the Garlic + Chilli Sauce
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp gochujang
- 1/2 lime, juiced
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, water and a pinch of salt in a bowl with a spoon, then bring the dough together with your hands. Tip out onto the work surface and knead for a couple of minutes. If the dough feels a bit dry, wet your hands and massage. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Once the dough has rested using a pair of scissors, slice thin strips off the dough until it has all been used up.
- Bring a pan of water to the boil, add a dash of sunflower oil and cook the noodles until they rise to the top. Drain and toss in a little oil to prevent them sticking together.
- In a nonstick pan heat a little oil and fry off the garlic, fresh chilli and dried chilli. Add the soy sauce honey, gochujang and lime.
- Add the cooked noodles into the pan and stir-fry on a high heat for a couple of minutes until the sauce has reduced and everything is starting to caramelise.
- Pan fry the pak choi in a little oil and serve alongside the noodles.
