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20-minute noodles · 15 minutes

Kimchi Butter Udon with a Jammy Egg

The kimchi fries in butter until its edges caramelize, and its own brine becomes the sauce for chewy frozen udon.

Prep
5 min
Cook
10 min
Total
15 min
Serves
2
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VegetarianStovetop

Frozen udon is the fastest good noodle in the freezer aisle: one minute in boiling water and it’s thick, bouncy and ready to soak up sauce. Here the sauce is mostly kimchi. Fried in butter for a few minutes, it loses its raw sourness and goes sweet and sticky at the edges, and a couple of spoonfuls of the brine from the jar loosen everything into a glossy, tangy coating.

A 6½-minute egg sits on top, so the yolk runs into the noodles when you cut it. Everything happens in one pot of water and one skillet, and the egg and the noodles share the same water. Fewer dishes, same result.

The recipe

Kimchi Butter Udon with a Jammy Egg

Prep 5 min · Cook 10 min · Total 15 min · Serves 2

Ingredients

Tap to tick off as you go.

Method

  1. Step 1: Cook the eggs

    Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Lower in the eggs and cook for 6½ minutes, then move them to a bowl of cold water. Keep the pot boiling for the udon.

  2. Step 2: Fry the kimchi

    Meanwhile, melt 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped kimchi and cook, stirring now and then, for 3–4 minutes, until the edges brown and the pan looks sticky.

  3. Step 3: Loosen the udon

    Drop the frozen udon into the boiling water for 1 minute, nudging the blocks apart with chopsticks. Scoop out ¼ cup of the water, then drain.

  4. Step 4: Toss in the sauce

    Add the udon to the skillet with the kimchi brine, soy sauce, gochujang if using, sugar and the last 1 tbsp butter. Toss for 1–2 minutes, adding splashes of the noodle water, until every strand is glossy and coated.

  5. Step 5: Top and serve

    Peel and halve the eggs. Divide the udon between bowls, set an egg on each, and finish with scallions, sesame seeds and seaweed.

Good to know

  • Older, more sour kimchi is better here. It caramelizes faster and the brine has more punch.
  • Don’t boil the udon longer than a minute. Frozen udon is already cooked, and it finishes in the skillet; extra time makes it soft and slippery.
  • Peel the eggs under a thin stream of water. The shell on a 6½-minute egg is stubborn and the white is delicate.

Swaps

Butter and egg
Make it vegan: use vegan butter and top with pan-fried tofu instead of the egg
Frozen udon
8 oz dried udon or thick spaghetti, cooked to package directions (adds about 8 minutes)
Soy sauce
Tamari, plus gluten-free noodles, if you need it gluten-free

Questions people ask

Is kimchi vegetarian?

Often not. Traditional kimchi is seasoned with fish sauce, salted shrimp or anchovy, so look for jars labeled vegan or check the ingredients for any seafood.

Do you need to thaw frozen udon?

No. Drop it straight from the freezer into boiling water for about a minute, until the strands separate, then drain.

How long do you boil an egg for a jammy yolk?

6½ minutes for a large egg straight from the fridge, lowered into water that’s already boiling, then into cold water to stop the cooking.

Get the napa cabbage, scallions and garlic from a farmer.

This recipe is only as good as what goes in it. Find a farmers market or CSA farm near you, or get a produce box delivered when there’s no market this week.

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