Maggi Noodles Recipe with Black Pepper and Garlic

A bowl of maggi noodles with herbs, garlic, and sesame seeds on top.

5 from 4 votes

Maggi Noodles Recipe with Black Pepper and Garlic

These homemade maggi noodles are delicious, spicy, and peppery, and use readily available ingredients and a package of ramen noodles.

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Total Time35

Servings: serving

Calories: 913kcal

Author: Karishma Pradhan

Ingredients

For the Crispy Garlic Topping

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small garlic clove, very thinly sliced

For the Noodles

2 cloves garlic grated
½ teaspoon grated ginger
1 large shallot finely minced
Spice seasoning see below for recipe
1 packet ramen noodles or maggi noodles
1 tablespoon soy sauce plus more to taste
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt
¼ cup coconut milk optional | for a saucier noodle dish
Crispy garlic topping
Thinly sliced green onions or minced cilantro for garnish

For the Spice Seasoning

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns or 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper — add more if you like it really spicy
½ teaspoon cumin seeds or ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon whole coriander seeds or ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
1 whole cardamom pod or ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ cinnamon stick or ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground fenugreek optional, but adds that classic Maggi "curry" flavor
¼ teaspoon chili powder

Instructions

For the Crispy Garlic Topping

Set a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat. When hot, add 1 small garlic clove, very thinly sliced .
Once pale golden brown on the bottom, flip the garlic cloves to ensure both sides are evenly fried.
When the garlic is golden brown on both sides, remove from the heat with a slotted spoon onto a drying rack or paper towel and let cool. Reserve the oil (do not discard).

For the Noodles

Set a pot of water to boil for your noodles.
Meanwhile, heat the reserved vegetable oil in a medium pan over medium-low heat. Add the grated 2 cloves garlic and ½ teaspoon grated ginger and saute for 1 minute until aromatic.
Increase heat to medium, add 1 large shallot, finely minced, and saute for 5 - 7 minutes until soft and slightly caramelized but not brown. While the shallot cooks, prepare the Spice seasoning (recipe below).
Reduce heat to medium-low and add ½ of the spice seasoning to start. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the water is boiling, add 1 packet ramen noodles or maggi noodles and cook as desired (usually about 2 - 3 minutes or as instructed by the ramen packet).
Increase heat of the shallot/garlic/spice mixture to medium and add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter until sauce is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Drain the maggi noodles and add to the pan, tossing to incorporate with all of the onion and spice mixture. Taste the noodles, and season with salt. At this point, you can add in more of the leftover spice mixture if desired.
Optional: If you’d like a slightly more saucy, liquidy mixture, add ¼ cup coconut milk, a little coconut milk at a time until consistency is as desired and allowing the sauce to reduce so that it sticks nicely to the noodles.
Remove the noodles from the pan, plate, and top with crispy garlic topping. Garnish with the scallions or cilantro and eat immediately.

For the Spice Seasoning

If using whole spices, add all spices to a small pan set to medium-low heat. Toast, stirring occasionally, until aromatic and slightly browned -- about 2 minutes.
Once toasted, let cool for a couple of minutes. Grind all spices in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle until finely blended and homogenous.
If using ground spices, mix all ground spices together in a small bowl.

Notes

The most time consuming part of the recipe is the prep — you can feel free to play around and omit/substitute certain ingredients where it makes sense. The mix of spicy black peppercorns, sweet warming spices, and earthy cumin/coriander creates a nice balance of flavors, but if you don't have all of those spices, the most important spice is the black pepper.

To cut down on future prep, you can double or triple the spice seasoning and keep it stored in an airtight container to have every time you want to make the noodles!

Nutrition