Quick cook, quick carb: this ridiculously lovely noodle dish takes just minutes to put together, and is by far my favourite emergency dinner; I almost always have cherry tomatoes on the worktop, and miso and spring onions in the fridge. Having tried this with every type of noodle imaginable, I can confirm the best are bouncy, thick udon. If you haven’t got pine nuts, chopped salted peanuts make a great alternative topping.
Miso butter noodles with tomatoes and spring onions
Prep 10 min
Cook 10 min
Serves 2
200g straight-to-wok udon noodles
2 handfuls pine nuts
30g salted butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
4 spring onions, trimmed and thickly sliced
30g white miso
15ml rice vinegar
Sea salt flakes, to taste
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions – usually this involves rehydrating them in a pan of boiling water for a few minutes. Toast the pine nuts in whichever way works best for you; a small frying pan on a low-medium heat with razor-sharp attention usually does the trick, but be sure to shake the pan or stir frequently.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large frying pan and, when foaming, add the garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and spring onions, stir-fry on a medium-low heat for five minutes, then gently stir in the miso and vinegar.
Stir the noodles through the hot miso butter and add salt to taste. Scatter the toasted pine nuts on top and serve hot.
