It’s an exciting day here at The Woks of Life. Because today, I have an AWESOME noodle recipe for you guys and it’s a lazy noodles recipe!
A Shortcut to Flavor
We all know how amazing Dan Dan Noodles are. They’re the perfect balance of spicy, savory flavors. But as any of you who’s seen—or actually managed to tackle—our Dan Dan Noodle recipe knows, it’s kind of an entire afternoon’s time commitment. There are lots of elements, and steps, and ingredients that come together into that glorious bowl of noodles. And it’s worth it.
But what if you don’t have all that time? What if, like me, you’re stumbling into your apartment after a long day at work, and you barely have time to walk the dog, edit photos, and answer emails…let alone spend two hours making dinner?
This lazy noodles recipe is the answer to my—and your—prayers. These 15-Minute Lazy Noodles really do come together in just 15 minutes, all with ingredients that you can likely find in your local grocery store. I call them “Lazy Noodles,” because I can throw them together even in my most lethargic of moods.
A Super Flexible Noodle Recipe
There’s also a ton of flexibility in this noodle recipe:
- Don’t have dark soy sauce? Leave it out.
- Don’t want to use ground beef, like I did? Use ground pork, chicken, or turkey.
- Want yours spicier? Add more chili oil.
- Sweeter? Add a bit more honey.
- Ran out of honey? Use sugar.
- Don’t have spinach? Throw in just about any other leafy green you can get your hands on.
This recipe will be a friend to you when you’re at your laziest—and hungriest. And substitutions are encouraged!
15-Minute Lazy Noodles: Recipe Instructions
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the noodles (almost any noodle will do—even spaghetti!). Meanwhile, heat the wok over high heat, and and add a tablespoon or two of oil. Add the ground meat, and stir-fry until browned and slightly crispy.
Add the onion and garlic, and continue to cook over high heat until the onions are slightly softened and browned at the edges.
Stir in the spinach until it’s just wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions. Add to a bowl, along with the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and chili oil (if using).
Toss with the onion, meat, and spinach mixture.
15 minutes later, serve your lazy noodles!
15-Minute Lazy Noodles
Ingredients
- 12 oz. dried wheat noodles (340g, almost any noodle will do––even spaghetti)
- 1-2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 pound ground beef (or pork, chicken, or turkey)
- 1 onion (thinly sliced)
- 2 cloves garlic (sliced)
- 3 cups baby spinach
- salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoons chili oil (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil for the noodles. Meanwhile, heat the wok over high heat, and and add a tablespoon or two of oil. Add the ground meat, and stir-fry until browned and slightly crispy.
- Add the onion and garlic, and continue to cook over high heat until the onions are slightly softened and browned at the edges. Stir in the spinach until it’s just wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions. Add to a bowl, along with the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and chili oil (if using). Toss with the onion, meat, and spinach mixture. Serve!
nutrition facts
When would be the best time to include sichuan peppercorns? When eating the oil initially (before adding the meat) or cooking it in with the chili oil? What would you recommend?
Made this tonight and it was so quick and easy. Adjustments: used a full pound of Chinese egg noodles (leftovers are life!) and wanted a more tooth veg so opted for baby choy sum that I blanched prior to cooking the noodles. Ended up needing to double the sauce and it turned out amazing! Will be adding this to the rotation.
I made this tonight using dan dan noodles we got from our local grocery store that carries a lot of Chinese produce and products. I normally follow your recipes exactly or as near to it as I can the first time, but in this case instead of browning ground meat, I chopped up some leftover beef onion I made a few days ago (also following the recipe from this site) and tossed that in the wok to heat through, saving me a couple more minutes. This came out incredibly good and it’s definitely going in the repetoire for nights I need something delicious but don’t want to cook very long. Great recipe!
It’s good even with spaghetti noodles! I made this dish exactly as stated but with 1 teaspoon of chili oil instead of 2. But it was Thai chili oil and there heat is like really hot LOL. But it turned out pretty good! I added like about a 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of teriyaki sauce just to my personal serving of this and it took it to another dimension! Yummy! 😋
Thank you Sandra!
I have made this recipe with ground chicken and it is very tasty!! Do you think I could use this with ground lamb?
Ground lamb would be stronger and flavor, but if you like lamb, by all means use it!
Yummo! Easy to make and easy to sub in stuff you have on hand. I used pork strips, mixed veggies, sugar snap peas, low sodium tamari and sambol. Double up on the sauce! Next time I won’t forget ginger!
So glad you liked it, Nicole!
Made this for some friends who showed up after a few hours at the pub. I wouldn’t say they were totally “fit-shaced” but they had a few pints and asked if I could make them something as it was after closing and they obviously couldn’t be trusted in the kitchen.
So I made them this and it was a big hit! Thanks for the easy solution
You’re welcome, Joe! You’re a good friend. :)
Hi Sarah! I love Woks of Life, but this didn’t turn out as I expected. The chili oil was not spicy at all and the dish was a bit bland. I ordered the ingredients recommended on your site, so I’m not sure what happened. Thoughts? Thanks!
Hi Ruth, homemade chili oil will definitely improve this. You can also increase any ingredients you like to taste. Not sure what else could’ve gone wrong—perhaps there were too many noodles?
Has anyone made this recipe without using a wok?
You can certainly make this without a wok, Justin!
Cast iron? Non-stick? What would you reccomend?
Either would work. This recipe is pretty no-fuss!