A one-pan work-from-home lunch built on a precooked protein base. Twenty minutes, cleanup included.
Mechanic
The noodles cook in the sauce. Start them in just enough water to cover in a wide pan, and add the aromatics and base halfway through; the starch from the noodles thickens the reducing liquid into a sauce that coats them. Add water a spoonful at a time, not all at once. If it ends up as soup, use less water and more heat next time.
Ingredients
- 85 g dried noodles (spaghetti, linguine, ramen, or Chinese egg noodles)
- 250 ml Beef base
- 115 g medium tofu, cubed
- 1 tbsp chili-garlic paste
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1–2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground
- 2 tsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1–2 g MSG (a small pinch)
- 150 g cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)
- soy sauce, sesame oil, and sake or rice wine, 1–2 tbsp each to taste
- splash of rice vinegar
Method
Drop the noodles in a wide pan with just enough water to cover and bring to a simmer. Keep a cup of hot water nearby.
When the noodles are halfway cooked by the package time, add the beef base, tofu, chili-garlic paste, tomato paste, Sichuan pepper, chili flakes, ginger, and MSG. Stir and cook until heated through and the liquid is reducing. Ramen and egg noodles cook faster; start them in less water.
Taste the liquid. Season with soy sauce, sesame oil, and sake. Test a noodle; if it’s still firm and the pan is dry, add 1–2 tbsp water.
Add the cabbage and cook until tender-crisp, 2–3 minutes. Finish with a splash of rice vinegar for acid. Taste again: it should be savoury, spicy, and bright without being too salty. The sauce should cling to the noodles.
To serve
In the pan or a bowl, topped with sliced green onion, sesame seeds, and togarashi.
Variations
Stock only
No beef base on hand? boil and drain the noodles, reserving a splash of water. In the same pan, fry the ginger in a little oil until fragrant, 1 minute, then the pepper, chili flakes, and tomato paste. Add 125 ml beef stock and the cabbage and simmer until the sauce reduces slightly, 3–5 minutes. Toss in the noodles and season as above.
Notes
- Use dashi in place of some of the stock in the stock-only version.
- Edamame works in place of or alongside the tofu.