One-pot shrimp udon with lime
Nothing gets drained, so the starch off the noodles thickens the sauce for you.
At a Glance
Story
Nothing is drained here and that is the point. Udon carries a heavy coat of loose starch, and finishing it in the sauce rather than in a pot of water lets that starch thicken what is already in the pan. Boil the noodles separately first and you pour the thickener down the sink, then wonder why the sauce slides off.
Ingredients
- 10 oz shrimppeeled and deveined
- 8 oz udon noodlesthe vacuum-packed kind
- 1 bell pepperthinly sliced
- 6 oz carrotsthinly sliced on an angle
- 2 scallionsthinly sliced, whites and greens kept apart
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 limezested and juiced
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- neutral oilsalt, pepper
Method
One pot, thirty minutes, and the sauce is mixed before anything gets hot. Do that first and the rest is quick.
- Whisk the soy, brown sugar, gochujang, sesame oil and ¼ cup warm water in a small bowl.
- Zest the lime, then halve and squeeze it. Keep the two apart.
- Medium pot, a drizzle of neutral oil, medium-high. Peppers and carrots in one layer, undisturbed 2 to 3 minutes. Add the scallion whites and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, stirring, until softened.
- Pat the shrimp dry, season, and into the pot. 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until the edges go opaque.
- Separate the udon strands with your hands and add them with the sauce. 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until the noodles are hot and the shrimp cooked through.
- Off the heat, the lime zest and as much juice as you like. Taste, season. Scallion greens and sesame seeds over.
Use the zest as well as the juice. The juice brings the sharpness and the zest brings the smell of a lime, which is most of what you actually taste.
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