Miso Butter Udon with Crispy Mushrooms

• 180 gdried udon noodles
• 250 gmixed mushrooms, torn, e.g. shiitake, oyster, chestnut
• 3garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3spring onions, sliced
• 1 tspchilli oil
• 1 tbspsoy sauce
• 2 tbspwhite miso paste
• 30 gbutter
• 2 tbspvegetable oil
• 1 tspmirin
• 1 tbspsesame seeds, toasted
• Fine salt and black pepper

Method

1. 1Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil and salt it generously; the noodles need room to move. Cook the udon to packet timing, reserve a mugful of cooking water, then drain, then rinse briefly under cold water to stop them clagging together. Set aside.
2. 2While the noodles cook, heat half of the 1 tbsp mushroom-frying oil in a large frying pan over high heat until it shimmers. Tear the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces; torn edges crisp better than knife-cut ones; and lay them in a single layer. Don't crowd the pan; if it looks tight, do them in two batches, sharing the remaining mushroom-frying oil between them. If they fit in one batch, use the full tablespoon now. Crowded mushrooms steam in their own water and go grey instead of golden.
3. 3Leave the mushrooms alone for 4–5 minutes. No stirring, no poking. You're waiting for the undersides to turn deep mahogany and crisp at the edges. Season with salt and pepper, toss once to colour the other side for a minute, then tip onto a plate.
4. 4Drop the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to the same pan. Slide in the sliced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant and pale gold.
5. 5Loosen the miso with the soy sauce and mirin in a small bowl so it disperses cleanly rather than sitting in lumps. Add the drained noodles to the pan with a splash of the noodle water, then pour in the miso mixture. Toss over the heat for a minute or two until every strand is glossy.
6. 6Lift the noodles to one side, drop the butter into the bare patch of pan and let it melt and bubble into the miso, swirling for 20 seconds until the sauce turns silky and emulsified; that swirl is what takes it from miso paste on noodles to a proper clinging glaze. Toss the noodles back through, loosening with another splash of water if it tightens. Taste; most of the salt is already there from the miso and soy, but a final pinch of pepper ties it together.
7. 7Divide between two deep bowls, pile the crispy mushrooms on top, scatter over the sliced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds, and finish each bowl with a slick of chilli oil pooling at the edge.

Per serving

kcal

384

protein

9g

fibre

3.8g

carbs

15.7g

fat

33.7g