Sesame-Brown Butter Udon Noodles

By Ali Slagle

Published December 9, 2022

  • A ceramic bowl holds a tangle of udon noodles and spinach in a sesame-brown butter sauce.
    Joe Lingeman for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(2,934)
Comments
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This weeknight meal is silky, slurpable and so quick to pull off. It follows the tradition of wafu or Japanese-style pasta, and combines brown butter, udon and spinach, but the classic combination of savory sauce, chewy noodle and green vegetable allows plenty of room for improvisation. Instead of soy sauce, you can add umami with Parmesan, miso, seaweed or mushrooms. Instead of black pepper for heat, grab ginger or chile flakes, oil or paste. For more protein, boil eggs or shelled edamame in the water before the udon, or add tinned mackerel or fresh yuba along with the sesame seeds. Udon noodles, found fresh, frozen or shelf-stable, are singularly bouncy and thick; if you can’t find them, use the thinner, dried style that resembles linguine.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • Salt

  • 14 to 16 ounces udon, preferably thick fresh, frozen or shelf-stable noodles

  • 1 pound baby spinach or coarsely chopped or torn mature spinach

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus more for serving

  • 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce, plus more as needed

  • Pinch of granulated sugar

  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, plus more for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

82 grams carbs; 135 milligrams cholesterol; 617 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 25 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 582 milligrams sodium; 20 grams protein; 3 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to package directions until just tender. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then add the spinach and press to submerge. (It will continue cooking later.) Drain the noodles and spinach, shaking to get rid of any excess water.

  2. Step 2

    Set the pot over medium heat. Add 5 tablespoons butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until the foam subsides, the milk solids turn golden-brown and it smells nutty and toasty, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the black pepper and stir until fragrant. Add ¼ cup pasta water, plus the noodles and spinach, soy sauce and sugar, and toss until the sauce is thickened and silky. Add pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce clings to the noodles.

  3. Step 3

    Remove from heat, add the sesame seeds and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter until melted. Season to taste with more soy sauce and black pepper (if mild) and sugar (if too salty). Serve with more sesame seeds on top.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,934 user ratings
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Comments

Fishy sauce user

I added some oyster sauce at the end and it made the flavour sort of oval?

josh

did anyone add fish sauce at the end? To round out the flavor?

maggy

Cut the amount of butter in half and add some sesame oil.

Morgan P

Perfect, easy comfort food recipe as written. We all have our favorite add-ins for sauce, veggies, protein and this is a great starting point to make it your own if you feel like it. Personally, I made as written and added some chopped pan fried shrimp at the end, and topped with shredded cheddar cheese. Delicious!

Sarah

In our house this served just two, with leftover chicken added! So, so delicious. No edits.

Jennifer

This was great, and my brother (a big Udon noodle dish fan) devoured it, and my mom really liked it too. Be sure to brown the butter and all that in a pot by itself; I didn’t get that part and just assumed the butter went in with the pasta. I also added some sesame oil, cherry tomatoes and a squeeze of lemon.

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