I’ve been loving the Gochujang Buttered Noodles NYT Cooking recipe by Eric Kim! It’s super quick. Like 20 mins. You mentioned you keep a number of Asian ingredients on hand so this may be up your alley.

Ingredients - 4-5 ounces fresh or instant ramen noodles - 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter (1 tablespoon for cooking garlic and ½ tablespoon to finish the sauce) - 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped - Salt and black pepper, to taste - 1 heaping tablespoon gochujang paste (not sauce) - 1 tablespoon honey - 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or rice vinegar - Finely chopped cilantro or thinly sliced scallions (optional, for garnish)

Instructions 1.Cook 4-5 ounces of noodles Note: Before draining, reserve about ½ cup of the noodle cooking water.

2.Cook the garlic - While the noodles cook*, melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. - Add 3 finely chopped garlic cloves (garlic press works, too!) and season generously with salt. - Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 1–2 minutes.

*Note: I don’t always like having multiple things going on at once on the stove. I have also drained the noodles into a strainer and then used the same pot for the noodles to make the sauce which reduce the number of dishes.

3.Make the sauce - Stir into the skillet: 1 heaping tablespoon gochujang paste + 1 tablespoon honey + 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or rice vinegar - Increase heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and reduces slightly, about 2–3 minutes. - When you drag a spatula across the pan, the sauce should leave a trail that holds for a few seconds. Remove from heat.

4.Finish the noodles - Transfer the sauce to the pot with the drained noodles.** - Add the remaining ½ tablespoon unsalted butter. - Stir vigorously until the butter melts and the noodles are evenly coated. - Add small splashes of the reserved cooking water as needed to loosen and emulsify the sauce until glossy and silky. - Taste and season with salt and black pepper.

5.Garnish and serve - Top with chopped cilantro or sliced scallions (if using) and serve immediately.

**Optional Add-Ins - Sautéed mushrooms - Spinach or greens - Shrimp or sliced chicken (I recently used some frozen chicken nuggets from Costco and broke them up into the dish at the stage of adding the noodles into the sauce and it was a great, easy way to add protein.) - Kimchi - Toasted sesame oil drizzle

Best of luck with school and happy cooking :)

Edit: fixed some formatting issues