4tablespoonsunsalted butter (preferably European style)
Freshly ground black pepper (be generous)
10scallions(sliced; white and green parts together; divided)
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the noodles until al dente but not fully cooked. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Set the noodles aside.
Melt the butter in the same pot over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook, stirring, just until barely golden and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar and stir to combine and dissolve the sugar.
Add the drained pasta to the sauce with 1/4 cup of the reserved water and half of the scallions. Use tongs to toss until the pasta is well coated with the sauce. If the pasta seems dry add 2 or more tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water.
Serve hot, garnished with the remaining scallions.
Notes
You can find Asian noodles at many well-stocked supermarkets or look for them online. I like Japanese ramen in this dish.
Reserving some of the pasta cooking water to add to the sauce is a technique used in Italian and other Western cooking, and it works beautifully here. The pasta cooking water contains some of the starch released from the pasta. This starchy water helps thicken the sauce and gives it body and some silkiness. Plus, since the cooking water is salted, it also provides added flavor. Go very easy on any additional salt, as the pasta water, oyster sauce, and fish sauce all contain salt as well.
Be sure not to let the garlic brown when you cook it, just allow it to barely turn golden. If you let it get too brown, it will start to taste burnt. Add the remaining ingredients as soon as it starts to become fragrant and turn a bit golden.