START TO FINISH: 25 minutes
SERVINGS: 4
Thick, quick-cooking udon—Japanese wheat noodles—make easy work of supper. We infuse ours with robust flavor with a peanut-sesame sauce seasoned with ginger, soy sauce and miso. Traditionally, this dish calls for Chinese sesame paste, which has a dark color and rich flavor, but can be difficult to find. Instead, we use natural peanut butter, which turned out to be a fine substitute. The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a week; bring it to room temperature before using. Check the packaging of your noodles for their cooking time. To round out the dish, add cooked shredded chicken, poached shrimp, cubes of sautéed tofu or edamame.
Don’t forget to rinse the noodles in cold water after cooking; they will become gummy otherwise.
For the sauce:
¼ cup natural peanut butter
2½ tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 teaspoons white miso
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon finely grated garlic
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the noodles:
12 ounces dried udon noodles
3 scallions, thinly sliced on diagonal
To make the sauce, in a large bowl whisk together all ingredients until smooth; set aside.
In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until tender, according to package directions. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water, then drain the noodles. Rinse under cold water and drain again.
Add the noodles and 2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking water to the sauce and toss until coated. Sprinkle with the scallions.