Soba Noodles with Asparagus & Miso Butter

Complex, fresh-tasting, and surprisingly rich, this simple noodle dish builds on the earthy goodness of Japanese buckwheat noodles (soba). The combination of miso and butter is reminiscent of good parmesan cheese.

This dish comes together in a flash – under 20 minutes – which makes it a great hearty, meatless weeknight supper.

The egg is optional, but does make this feel more like a complete meal.

Ingredients #

Instructions #

Put a large pot of water on to boil (skip the salt – the miso is plenty salty).

In a large bowl, combine the miso, butter, ginger and 2 tbsp of sliced scallions. Mix with a fork. Set aside.

Cut the tough ends off the asparagus and slice it on the bias. Separate the stalks from the tips.

Put a nonstick skillet large enough to fry all four eggs on the stove and add a tbsp or so of vegetable oil. Turn on the heat to medium. While you cook the noodles and the asparagus, fry the eggs: crack the eggs into the pan, sprinkle with salt, and cover the pan with a lid – this will “steam” the tops so you won’t need to flip the eggs. Cook for a couple of minutes and turn off the heat, leaving the lid on the eggs while you finish the noodles.

When the water is boiling, add the noodles and set a timer for 1 minute. When the time goes off, add the asparagus stalks and set timer for one minute. When the timer goes off, add the asparagus tips and set the timer for 2 minutes. When the timer goes off, reserve ¼ cup of the cooking liquid and drain. Add the hot noodles and asparagus to the miso butter. Toss to coat.

Divide the mixture into 4 bows and top each portion with a fried egg. Sprinkle with the remaining sliced scallions and some sichimi togarashi (a Japanese red pepper blend, optional).