5 Minute Sweet and Spicy Noodles

Name: 5 Minute Sweet and Spicy Noodles
Prep time: 1 min
Cook time: 4 min
Ingredients: 2 x 70-85gram packets of dried instant noodles; 1 cup bok choy (chopped); fried shallots and sesame seeds (to serve); 1 tablespoon sesame oil; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 teaspoon sambal oelek or garlic and chilli sauce

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These sweet and spicy noodles come together in just 5 minutes making it the perfect quick and easy vegetarian meal for busy weeknights. Made using just a few ingredients and a healthy serving of vegetables for good measure, this is sure to be a recipe you’ll make over and over again!

Bowl of noodles with large noodle pull with chopsticks.

When in doubt about what to have for dinner, particularly on busy weeknights, I make noodles.

But while noodles are usually pretty easy to make anyway, I really wanted a version that basically eliminated all the time spent in the kitchen. So for those days when the last thing you want to do is cook, this is the recipe to pull out.

This recipe is a one pot situation and the veg can be added based on what you have in the fridge. Green veggies such as broccoli, kale, cabbage or snow peas would all work perfectly in place of the bok choy. But also, I have made this without any veggies when I really just needed saucy, spicy noodles and my fridge was pretty empty.

It’s flexible, it’s optional, it’s a make it how you feel situation.

I love this recipe when I want something cheap and easy without feeling like I have regressed into my university diet of mi goreng noodles. It’s budget food, but elevated. It is also vegetarian/vegan, dairy-free and can be easily made gluten-free as well.

If you are anything like me, you will basically have everything you need already in your house to make these noodles, so next time you get home from work and start thinking about ordering takeaway instead of cooking, remember this recipe!

all ingredients needed for vegetarian spicy noodles laid out.

Key Ingredients

I absolutely love this recipe because it uses such basic ingredients and is so flexible, you can really just use this as a guide and change it up and use whatever you have available.

Noodles – I really feel that this dish is best with dried instant noodles. You can buy huge packs of them in the Asian aisle of the grocery store for a few dollars OR you can simply use some of the 2 minute maggi noodles that I think everyone keeps in the pantry for emergency times (throw away that flavour packet first though!).
Bok choy – use bok choy, pak choi or literally any greens you find in the bottom of your crisper (I’m looking at you well intentioned baby spinach/kale). You could also skip it but it’s good to sneak in some veggies.
Sesame oil – honestly I think this is the key ingredient to making these noodles so good. I don’t recommend leaving it out or substituting.
Brown sugar – gives the sauce that rich sweetness.
Soy sauce – for the salty/savoury element.
Chilli sauce – for this version I used sambal oelek but I often use chilli and garlic sauce. You could also use sriracha. Adjust the amount based on how spicy you like your spicy noodles.
Fried shallots and sesame seeds – this will give your noodle a little crunch and delicious extra flavour.

Sweet and spicy noodles in a bowl ready to eat.

Step-By-Step Instructions

You really don’t need much to make these noodles. The prep includes getting a pot of water on the boil, chopping up some greens and mixing together a super simple sauce.

You can definitely make this recipe in a single pot. I decided to make it using two pans for the photos in this post, but honestly, it’s really not necessary.

Once your water is boiling add in your noodles. Cook them according to the packet instructions depending on the type of noodles you’re using. If they are the standard dried instant noodles, they should only take 2 minutes to cook.

Saucepan of water boiling the noodles and chopped bok choy in a frying pan.

Add your chopped bok choy to the pan with about a tablespoon of the sauce mixture and saute for a minute or so until soft. Add in the drained noodles and the remainder of the sauce and toss through until all of the noodles are coated.

Step 2 and 3 of making the noodles. Bok choy in a frying pan and noodles and bok choy in the frying pan.

Finish off with the totally optional but delicious toppings of fried shallots and sesame seeds for that extra flavour and crunch.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make this without chilli?

If you’re not a fan of spicy food and would rather make these noodles without chilli, simply omit the chilli and instead add a clove or two of crushed garlic.

Close up of bowl of noodles with chopsticks.

More easy noodle recipes:

15 Minute Garlic Prawn Noodles
Chicken Satay Noodles
Spicy Pork and Peanut Noodles
Charlie Chan Pasta: A Filipino Spaghetti