Cooking is kind of unfair. We all have to do some degree of it daily to stay alive whether we like it or not. What other hobby can claim that? Althought I love cooking, I don’t always hit the kitchen with a spring in my step and a song in my heart. But I also never view the activity with disdain. This is all to say that sometimes I’m bone tired, sometimes I have a mere 30 minutes to feed my household, sometimes my brain is at max capacity and anything complicated will trigger a meltdown. And when I’m in any one of those states, these Brown Butter Garlic Noodles are my go-to. Not because of some hack or shortcut. It’s because these noodles take a very short time to become delicious. There is no compromise – this is just how long this recipe takes. 

There isn’t much in this world that I adore more than noodles. The chewy strands make me positively poetic. But I will spare you my romantic musings about this oh-so-special carb and get to the point. Noodles are my favorite and today’s Silken Tofu Noodles are my current reigning favorite noodles, making this dish my favorite-favorite. If that’s not a ringing endorsement for this bowl, I don’t know what is. So what are we looking at here? You’re looking at a tangle of Shanghai Noodles dressed in a creamy ginger-heavy silken tofu sauce topped with braised shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots, crisp cucumbers, sesame seeds, and chili crisp. In a word, this dish is divine.