Udon in a peanut sauce loosened with noodle water, finished with a chili-basted fried egg, crushed peanuts and scallions. One bowl, fifteen minutes, almost entirely from the pantry.
Put a pot of water on to boil. While it heats, finely dice the garlic, crush the peanuts, and slice the scallions.
The water takes longest, so start it before anything else.
In a small pan, off the heat, stir together the peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and chili oil.
Mixing the sauce cold, before it meets heat, keeps the peanut butter from seizing.
Drop the udon into the boiling water and cook until al dente — a few minutes, still with some chew.
Udon goes from chewy to soft quickly. Start tasting early.
Before you drain, scoop out a glass of the starchy noodle water. Drain the noodles and add them straight to the sauce pan while they are still hot.
The starch in that water is what makes the sauce cling. Plain water will not do the same thing.
Set the pan over low heat and add the noodle water a splash at a time, tossing, until the sauce coats the noodles without clumping.
A splash at a time. It is easy to thin too far and hard to come back.
Heat a little oil in a pan over high heat and crack in the egg, sunny side up. Add the butter and chili oil, then tilt the pan and spoon the foaming fat over the white until it sets and the edges go lacy.
Keep the heat high so the edges crisp while the yolk stays loose.
Pile the noodles into a bowl and top with the egg, crushed peanuts, and scallions.
The yolk is part of the sauce. Break it and toss before you eat.