Ramen Noodles With Shrooms & Soy Butter

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it lightly. Just lightly this time. There's a lot of salty stuff coming later.
2. Tear or cut the mushrooms into 2-inch pieces. Different shapes are fine; roughly the same size is what matters.
3. Thinly slice the garlic.
4. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and swirl. When the oil just starts to give off wisps of smoke, add all the mushrooms at once and stir to coat. Season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring only every 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and crisp all over, 10 to 14 minutes. Every 2 to 3 minutes means every 2 to 3 minutes. Put the spoon down. Walk away. Come back.
5. Lower the heat to medium-low and add 2 tablespoons butter and the garlic. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is very fragrant but not browned, 1 minute. Move the mushrooms to a plate (it's fine if some garlic stays behind).
6. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, the soy sauce and ¾ cup water from the noodle pot. Bring to a simmer, then take it off the heat, cover, and keep it warm until the noodles are ready.
7. Cook the ramen in the boiling water until al dente, according to the package. Move the noodles with tongs into the soy butter (keep the noodle water). Set the pot over medium-low and add handfuls of Parm one at a time, tossing with tongs and adding noodle water as you go, until all the cheese is in and the sauce is creamy and glossy. One handful at a time. Dump it all in and it clumps, and then it's rustic.
8. Add the mushrooms and lots of black pepper and toss again, loosening with more noodle water as needed.
9. Off the heat, finely grate in the zest of 1 lemon. Taste and add salt if it needs it.
10. Divide among bowls and finish each with more pepper.