Miso Butter Udon Noodles

Nutrition per serving

Calories

540 kcal

Protein

16 g

Carbs

78 g

Fat

18 g

Fibre

5 g

Sugar

6 g

Sodium

1180 mg

Values are estimates based on USDA FoodData Central and vary with brands and portioning.

Chef notes

This is the meal I make when I have nothing in and no interest in cooking. Miso is the whole reason it works, and it is worth keeping a tub in the fridge because it lasts for months and adds instant depth to almost anything. White miso is mild and slightly sweet, which is what you want here. Red miso is much stronger and will overwhelm the butter, so use less if that is all you have. The two things that go wrong are both about heat. If you add the miso to a hot pan on the stove, it loses the fermented complexity that makes it interesting and just tastes salty. And if you skip the noodle water, you get lumps of miso butter sitting at the bottom of the bowl instead of a sauce. That starchy water is doing the same job cream would do in a pasta sauce, so save more than you think you need.

Substitutions

• Udon: any thick noodle, or even spaghetti at a push — White miso: red miso, but use about a third less as it is much stronger|Butter: vegan butter or olive oil, though butter gives the best texture|Soy sauce: tamari for gluten-free|Sugar: honey or maple syrup

Serving suggestions

A fried or soft boiled egg on top makes it a fuller meal. Quick-cooked greens like pak choi or spinach stirred through work well. Some crispy fried shallots on top if you have them.

Storage

Best eaten immediately. Noodles absorb the sauce and go soft in the fridge, though it keeps a day if you must.

Reheating

Reheat in a pan with a good splash of water, tossing rather than stirring, to bring the sauce back together. Do not let it boil.

Equipment

• Pan for noodles
• Large serving bowl
• Fork
• Grater

Variations

• With mushrooms
• fry sliced mushrooms in the butter first, then add the miso off the heat
• Extra protein
• top with shredded chicken, crispy tofu or an egg
• Creamy
• add a tablespoon of tahini or peanut butter to the miso paste
• Spicy
• mash a teaspoon of gochujang or chilli crisp into the sauce

Why it works

Miso is fermented soybean paste, rich in free glutamates and nucleotides, which is why it delivers savoury depth that salt alone cannot. Those compounds are heat-sensitive, so keeping the sauce off direct heat preserves them. The sauce itself is an emulsion. Butter is fat and water, miso is largely water and solids, and the starch dissolved in noodle cooking water acts as a stabiliser, coating the fat droplets and holding them suspended so the sauce clings to the noodles rather than splitting into greasy pools.

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