P.F. Chang’s Garlic Noodles are a quick and easy Chinese noodle dish copycat dish you can make without the heavy flavors of a chow mein and as the perfect base for your favorite stir fry meals.
P.F. Chang’s Garlic Noodles are the base of some of their more popular dishes like Dan Dan noodles and are a really popular side dish that offers a milder flavor alternative to your classic Chow Mein noodles.
P.F. Chang’s recipes have been a lot of fun to decode. Last year I spent the better part of the year going through and re-making the entire Panda Express menu. When we want to eat Chinese food at a sit down restaurant we only go to two restaurants. 
The first is Panda Inn when we are in Los Angeles which is the original dine in restaurant Panda Express came from and the second is P.F. Changs.
If you’re looking for more P.F. Chang’s recipes there are a few on the site already (and more coming):
- P.F. Chang’s Orange Peel Chicken
- P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef (From Peas and Peonies)
The recipe for the P.F. Chang’s Garlic Noodles is not a complicated one but there are some unique ingredients in the dish that you are going to want to use instead of looking for substitutions.
If you go to an Asian grocery store you can find them readily available and for not a lot of money and you’ll enjoy making authentic dishes for months with them.
Tools used in the making of this P.F. Chang’s Garlic Noodles:
Oyster Sauce: This is a unique flavor and ingredient. If you avoid seafood and want another option I recommend Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (made from mushrooms) but I don’t recommend you swap this out for something else altogether. I know sometimes people recommend Hoisin Sauce as a replacement, it would not give you the authentic flavor here if you do that though.
Shaohsing Wine: This is different than Mirin or any sweet cooking wine, and has a unique flavor another cooking wine wouldn’t really duplicate well. It is also much less expensive in the grocery stores, so look for the info here and if you have a local grocer where you can get it, buy it there.S
Chinese Noodles: These noodles are authentic to Chinese noodles like chow mein and have a higher egg content. If you can’t find them, you can use a thin spaghetti or buy those Yakisoba noodles from near the cup o’ soup selections and discard the seasoning packets.
Sesame Oil: Sesame oil is incredibly strong in flavor and scent as is to be used sparingly. It adds a ton of flavor and shouldn’t be left out of the dish if at all possible because the flavors are so fragrant.
P.F. Chang's Garlic Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh Chinese noodles
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon red chile flakes
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons shaohsing wine
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 japanese cucumber julienned on an angle
- chopped cilantro optional
Instructions
- Cook the noodles a minute shy of the directions on the bag, drain and keep on a plate while you make the sauce.
In a large skillet heat the canola oil on medium high and cook the garlic until fragrant but not browning, about 20-30 seconds.
- Add in the sugar and vinegar and stir to combine.
- Toss the noodles in the pan with the canola oil mixture and and remove again while you make the sauce. (You're going to make the stir fry sauce before adding the noodles back in).
- Add in the chicken broth, chile flakes, sugar, shaohsing wine, oyster sauce, salt, cornstarch and sesame oil.
- Turn the heat on the pan up to high heat.
Stir to combine the sauce ingredients and let it thicken in the pan for 20-30 seconds.
- Add in the noodles and stir fry the noodles until the sauce is completely absorbed.
To julienne the cucumbers cut them (unpeeled) into 1/4 inch slices on an angle, then slice them into matchsticks about a 1/4 inch thick.
- Toss with cilantro and serve.
Delicious! I’ve tried replicating the pf changs garlic noodles several times on my own. I ended up using too much soy sauce without getting the flavor I was looking for. This recipe has so much flavor without as much sodium as I was using in my version.
I’m so glad it worked out for you! Thanks for the 5 stars.
I made these last night and OMG! SPOT ON! They were delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
You’re welcome, Mandi.
This is great! Added sauteed chicken and substituted lower sodium soy sauce for the high sodium oyster sauce. Definitely will have this again.
Thanks for coming back to let me know how much you enjoyed it, Cindy.
Love PFChangs vegetarian lettuce wraps too. What replaces the chicken ?
Tofu 🙂
These were delicious! Had a good amount of heat as well as garlic. There was not one noodle left!
I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Can you use Soba noodles? I have a pack I need to use…
Yes, you can use them though the recipe won’t be as authentic.
Love these recipes!! Have you ever calculated WW SP’s and he you ever tried to make these WW friendly – so you could have the decadent version as well as lighter, WW friendly one…. just a thought!!
So glad you’re loving the recipes, thank you! I haven’t tried to change this up to be WW friendly but thanks for the suggestion. I’ll have to start looking into it and playing around with the idea.
Yes! I love PF Changs but haven’t been there in FOREVER. Thanks for sharing this so we can make it at home!
You’re welcome Des!
I am such a sucker for any kind of Chinese noodle dish. This looks fabulous! 🙂
I think you did a great job in figuring out the ingredients for their recipe. These garlic noodles look fantastic!I love to make Asian noodles at least once a week, and this is one I will try next!!!
Thank you Lora!
Who doesn’t love those noodles?? Can’t wait to try this at home! My family will be so excited!
YES to making your own Chinese food at home! My husband loves these noodles in the restaurant, so I know this’ll go over beautifully at our house.
Love your recipes. My doctor has told me to cut down on red meat as she say I eat far to much of it. So I am looking for Asian veggie stirfry recipes. I have just cooked your garlic noodle recipe up for lunch and both my sister and I loved it. Regards from New Zealand
Wonderful! Thank you so much for dropping by to let me know how much you enjoyed it!
I enjoy and look forward to all the great recipes from your Dinner, then Dessert and your copycat recipes are spot on.
Thank you so much for sharing and inspiring all of us at home chefs.
Awww, that’s so sweet of you! Thank you!
These noodles look fantastic! Wow!
Thank you Erren!