This is a great lazy dish. It can be done with pantry ingredients, is done in 15 minutes start to finish, yet tastes of far more work than it takes. It also pairs well with many raw vegetables1 that you can prep as the pasta cooks.

Ingredients (single serving):

  • 80 grams of pasta
  • salt
  • a few cracks of black pepper
  • 1/6th of an onion, finely diced
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of fish sauce2
  • 1 tablespoon(ish) of butter, finely diced

Preparation:

  • put the pasta, salt, and a large amount of water in a pan3
  • cook until done, usually about 15 minutes
  • drain4 leaving a tablespoon of pasta water behind
  • add the onion, pepper, soy sauce, and fish sauce
  • mix on high heat until you reach your desired consistency
  • off the heat, add the diced butter and mix vigorously until it has fully dissolved

Credits:

This recipe grew out of the way I currently cook crozets, crossed with a hazy memory of San Francisco garlic noodles recipes.

  1. Diced bell pepper, cucumber sticks, thin onion slices, etc. ↩︎

  2. Yes, it stinks. No, do not skip it. ↩︎

  3. I do start from cold water. Waiting for a boil before adding the pasta only makes the dish slower. ↩︎

  4. I will often use as little water as I can get away with, and cook until it evaporates leaving a thick starchy sauce behind. ↩︎