Where It All Begins
When we talk about noodles, we often think in straight lines — Chinese noodles here, Italian pasta there.
But food history isn’t linear. It’s shared, traded, borrowed, and adapted.
Long before recipes were written down, the Silk Road connected East and West through a vast web of trade routes. Alongside silk and spices travelled something far more influential: ideas. Wheat, milling techniques, dough-making, drying methods, oils, and spices all moved from hand to hand, kitchen to kitchen.
Noodles didn’t belong to one place — they evolved everywhere.
That’s why it feels right to open A–Z of Noodles with Aglio e Olio.
An Italian dish, yes — but one built on the same fundamentals found across noodle cultures worldwide: wheat, heat, oil, restraint, and timing.
In Italy, Aglio e Olio is food stripped back to its essentials. Garlic gently warmed, chilli bloomed, pasta water used with intention. No excess. No shortcuts. Just understanding.
It mirrors the philosophy seen across East Asia too: let the ingredient speak, don’t drown it.
This dish reminds us that noodles are a global language.
Different alphabets. Same instincts.
As this series unfolds — from Italy through China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and beyond — A–Z of Noodles isn’t about claiming ownership. It’s about recognising connection.
Because long before borders, food was already travelling.
Aglio e Olio
Ingredients
- 200 g Spaghetti dried
- 5 Cloves Garlic thinly sliced
- 4-5 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Dried Chilli Flakes
- Salt
- Flat Leaf Parsley small handful, finely chopped
Instructions
Boil the pasta
- Bring a large pan of well-salted water to a rolling boil.
- Cook spaghetti until al dente.
- Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
Gently cook the garlic
- Add olive oil to a cold frying pan.
- Add garlic slices and place over low heat.
- Let the garlic gently sizzle until just pale golden. Do not brown — bitter garlic ruins the dish.
- Sprinkle in chilli flakes and warm gently for 10–15 seconds to bloom the oil.
Emulsify
- Add a splash of reserved pasta water to the pan (it should sizzle).
- Add the drained spaghetti directly to the pan.
- Toss, don’t drownToss vigorously so the oil and starchy water form a glossy sauce that coats the pasta.
- Add more pasta water a tablespoon at a time if needed.
- Remove from heat.
- Add parsley if using.
- Taste and adjust salt (often the pasta water is enough).
For more recipe checkout my Chinese Made Easy Cook Book
