An almost one-pot meal that I could eat every day.
This Creamy Udon Carbonara with Miso and Garlic is the fusion food of my dreams. Rich creamy sauce made of eggs, cheese & miso tossed with chewy udon noodles and topped with chili flakes, green onion and bacon! Oh, and because why stop there, we’re going to drizzle the whole works with a little garlic butter. Yes we are.
This whole dish comes together in no time at all and I promise it will make everyone at the table happy. Perfect weeknight food that doesn’t feel at all like weeknight food.
All about the udon noodles…
Udon noodles are thick, chewy Japanese noodles that come in several different ways… instant, frozen, fresh, dried…
I use shelf stable instant udon noodles because they take absolutely no time at all to cook (1-2 minutes) and they are super convenient. Use whatever udon noodles you like, just cook them according to package instructions. Need a substitute for udon noodles? Some ideas here.
Anything Special You Need to Know About this Creamy Udon Carbonara?
*Using 3 eggs here makes for a pretty saucy carbonara and I didn’t need to add any pasta cooking water at all. I love it like this, but go with your preference here… you can use just two eggs and more cheese if you want it a little thicker.
*Be sure to whisk the miso paste, parmesan & egg mixture well before adding the noodles. I like to use a fork to really mash up the miso and then whisk the whole works until smooth.
*Some carbonara recipes use only egg yolks, but I like to use the whole egg because 1. I like it that way and 2. I dislike separating eggs.
Like a classic carbonara, all you have to do to make the sauce is whisk some raw eggs with some cheese (and miso in this case) and toss it with the hot noodles the minute they’re cooked. The hot noodles cook the sauce and the result is a luscious, silky sauce.
The classic would also use pancetta or guanciale instead of the bacon, but I think thick cut bacon works out just fine here. You can also just leave the bacon out entirely for a vegetarian version of this dish!
Recipe-ish…
Creamy Udon Carbonara with Miso and Garlic
Ingredients
- 4 packs instant udon noodles
- 6 slices thick bacon cut into pieces
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tbsp white miso
- 3/4 cup parmesan freshly grated
For Serving:
- Red pepper flakes
- Scallions
Instructions
- Cook the bacon over medium-high heat in a skillet until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels.
- Turn the heat down to low and remove all but 1 Tbsp bacon grease from the pan and add in the butter and the garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Whisk the eggs, miso and parmesan cheese in a large bowl until well combined and smooth.
- Cook the udon noodles according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.
- Drain the noodles, immediately add them to the egg/cheese mixture and toss quickly and thoroughly until a thick sauce forms. Add pasta water only if it needs thinning.
- Season with S&P and add in the cooked bacon.
- Top with sliced scallions, red pepper flakes and drizzle the garlic butter over all.
Let me know what you think!
If you like this Creamy Udon Carbonara with Miso and Garlic Recipe then you’d love this Chili Goma Soba (Spicy Sesame Noodles) Recipe. It’s all my favourite ramen flavours in soba noodle form and it’s delish.
