Ayo Edebiri Just Shared a "Really Easy" Pasta Dish Using Skills She Learned on ‘The Bear’

If you’re at all invested in pop culture, you know who Ayo Edebiri is. The actor is best known for playing Sydney Adamu in The Bear—which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for this recent awards season.

The comedian put her cooking skills to the test in Vogue’s recent episode of “Now Serving” on YouTube. Edebiri whipped up a delicious pasta main and a cocktail to pair for the ultimate meal, saying this is her typical “invite a friend over and make this” dish as she knows it will be “delicious and easy.” 

“And it feels fancy even though it’s not,” she says in the video. Learn how to make Edebiri’s Miso Butter Pasta with Furikake Breadcrumbs and a refreshing Umeshu Highball below.

Edebiri starts by listing her ingredients, using similar measurements to food blogger Molly Moss’ recipe, as linked by Vogue:

• 1 pound spaghetti (for added fiber, try whole-wheat spaghetti)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 9 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons miso paste
• 8 oil-packed whole calabrian chilies
• ½ cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons furikake
• 1 lemon

The above ingredients make four servings, and be sure to save some pasta water for when you’re making the buttery sauce.

After chopping the chilies (and crediting her knife skills to The Bear, of course), Edebiri places her butter in a pan to melt, stirring occasionally until it browns.

“I like when butter’s a little brown,” she explains. “It gets like a little deeper, a little, like, nuttier.” She's absolutely right that browning butter toasts the milk solids in the butter, which gives it that beloved nutty taste. While Edebiri stresses that it requires "patience," brown butter is simple to make and can elevate mains like scallops or pasta, veggie sides and even chocolate chip cookies.

As she waits for the butter to brown, Edebiri reminisces on the past two seasons of The Bear and what she learned while on the show.

“One of the things I learned during Bear prep that was really important wasn’t just the ability to cook,” the actor says. “But [it was] like, ‘How do you move like a chef and act like a chef?’ When we were at culinary school and also when I was doing my training, everybody was just like, ‘You’re so afraid of heat, you kinda need to like, grow up.’”

Through this advice, Edebiri no longer fears popping oil or, lucky for us, a pan of brown butter, to which she adds her breadcrumbs until browned, then seasons with Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and furikake. This Japanese seasoning blend usually consists of bonito (dried fish), sesame seeds, seaweed, salt and sugar, and here it really complements the super-savory flavor of miso.

Moving the buttery breadcrumbs to a bowl, she adds in the zest from one lemon and mixes it together. Then, she starts boiling the water for her pasta—and while it boils, she serves up a cocktail.

“The drink I’m going to make is an umeshu highball,” Edebiri explains. “I don’t really like drinking alcohol, and when I do, I prefer that it tastes like juice. So plum wine is kind of like a dream.”

She splashes in umeshu, whiskey and ginger juice before filling the remainder of the ice-filled glass with club soda. With a garnished piece of candied ginger, Edebiri mixes it up and tries the cocktail, noting that she’s “happy with this.”

Back to the main dish: she adds spaghetti to the now boiling water. (If you want to boost your fiber intake for its amazing benefits, try using whole-wheat pasta.) While it cooks, Edebiri starts making her sauce. In a separate pan, she browns the rest of her butter and adds in miso this time. Whisking both ingredients together, she ladles in pasta water like a true pro, then seasons the mixture with black pepper. (The starch in the water you cook your pasta in helps emulsify the sauce, turning it silky smooth.)

The last step for Edebiri is adding the pasta to the miso butter skillet, fully coating the spaghetti before plating. Once on the plate, The Bear star shows her skills by beautifully topping the spaghetti with a generous amount of the furikake breadcrumbs, chopped chilies, scallions, Parmesan and black pepper. 

“That’s my fricking pasta,” Edebiri concludes the video. “It’s really good.”

If this recipe has you drooling, we think you’ll love our elevated Mushroom-Miso Pasta which embraces the flavor of earthy mushrooms for a satisfying bite. For a side dish to pair with the flavor-packed spaghetti, try one of our veggie favorites like this Arugula & Fennel Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette or these Crispy Smashed Brussels Sprouts.