Dashi stock makes a flavour packed umami base
This recipe for udon noodle soup is an absolute winner. It is rich and flavourful, yet at the same time light and aromatic. The broth base for udon noodle soup is dashi stock, which is a common base for many Japanese dishes. It is super simple and easy to make, but really adds scrumptious umami to any dish. You make dashi stock by infusing water with the flavour of kombu, a type of edible kelp, and bonito flakes, otherwise known as katsuobushi. Bonito flakes are very thin flakes of dried, fermented skipjack tuna or bonito. If you would like to make a vegetarian or vegan dashi stock, you can either make a plain kombu dashi (just increase the quantity a little), or you can make a shitake dashi (using dried shitake mushrooms), or a shitake and kombu dashi.
What are udon noodles?
Udon noodles are a thick white Japanese noodles, made with wheat flour. They are popular throughout Japan, and now in much of the rest of the world. They are typically served in an umami rich broth, but they can also be stir-fried. Depending on the region, the noodles vary in thickness and texture, and the broth can have different flavours and toppings. You can also serve them hot or cold.
Japanese flavourings make an authentic udon noodle soup
Udon noodle soup is usually flavoured with traditional Japanese ingredients such as sake, mirin and soy sauce. Sake is a Japanese alcohol made from fermented rice. Mirin is a type of rice wine relatively similar to sake. It is however much sweeter and has a much lower alcohol content. The sake adds a nutty fruitiness, the mirin adds sweetness, and the soya sauce adds a saltiness to the broth. I also love to add miso to my udon noodle soup. Miso is made of fermented soya beans (sometimes with other ingredients such as rice, barley malt or seaweed). It adds to the delicious earthy, salty and tangy flavour of the soup, as well as giving it a little more substance.
You can add whatever toppings take your fancy
The topping choices for your udon noodle soup really are endless. I love making mine mostly vegetarian (I do use bonito flakes to make my dashi – but you can easily substitute this as mentioned above). I can never get enough mushrooms, so I love to add lovely flavoursome meaty varieties such as shitake or oyster mushrooms.
Tofu, either raw or deep-fried, adds a lovely creamy or crunchy texture, depending on what you prefer. Another favourite is pak choy. Sometime I add shelled edamame beans instead for a change. I also like to add soft boiled eggs. They are just so scrumptious with the broth and noodles. This is a little more typical of ramen, but I really enjoy them in my udon noodle soup as well. If you want to make it a fish soup, you can add thinly sliced sushi grade fish, or if you are a meat eater you could add some thinly sliced rare grilled steak, or some shredded cooked chicken meat.
Udon Noodle Soup with Miso, Shitake Mushrooms, Tofu and Egg
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Ingredients
- DASHI STOCK:
- 2 litres of water
- 3x 3cm pieces of kombu
- 40g bonito flakes (or dried shitake mushrooms for a vegan base)
- UDON NOODLE SOUP:
- 2cm piece of ginger
- 4 1/2 tbsp. miso
- 4 tbsp. mirin
- 3 tbsp. sake
- 5 1/2 tbsp. light soya sauce
- TOPPINGS:
- 200g shitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tbsp. peanut oil
- 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed
- 1/2 tbsp. light soya sauce
- 400g precooked udon noodles
- 4 eggs
- 4 pak choy, halved
- 100g organic tofu, cubed
- GARNISH:
- 4 spring onions, sliced at an angle
- 1 chilli, thinly sliced
- 2cm piece of ginger, julienned (cut in matchstick pieces)
Instructions
DASHI STOCK:
- Place the water in a large pot with the pieces of kombu. Gently bring to the boil. As soon as it boils, turn down to a gentle simmer. Add the bonito flakes and after about 30 seconds, remove from the heat. Allow the flavours to infuse for half and hour. Then strain, returning the broth to a clean pot and discarding the kombu and bonito flakes.
UDON NOODLE SOUP:
- Peel the ginger and cut into small pieces. Place in a NutriBullet or blender and process with 2 tbsp. of water to make a smooth ginger juice. Strain to remove any bits.
- Place the dashi stock back on the heat. Whisk in the miso paste and bring to the boil.
- Once the broth boils, reduce to a very gentle simmer. Add the ginger juice, mirin, sake and light soya sauce and stir to combine. Taste the broth and add more mirin for sweetness and light soya sauce for saltiness, if needed. Set the broth aside whilst you prepare the toppings.
TOPPINGS:
- Heat a heavy based frying pan to a medium to high heat. Add the peanut oil and sesame oil.
- Add the shitake mushrooms and fry for 1-2 minutes until they are starting to soften.
- Stir through the crushed garlic, and fry until the mushrooms are cooked and getting some colour. Add the soya sauce and stir through to coat the mushrooms. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Cook the udon noodles as per packet instructions (usually for 1-2 minutes). Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Drizzle with a little peanut oil so they don’t stick together. Set aside.
- Bring a small pot of water to the boil, and cook the eggs for 7 minutes, until they are soft boiled. Remove and place in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. Peel and carefully slice in half, lengthways.
- Return the soup broth back to the heat. Once it simmers, add the pak choy and cook for about 2 minutes, until the leaves are wilted and the bases are just cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon.
TO ASSEMBLE:
- Divide the udon noodles into four deep soup bowls. Arrange the shitake mushrooms, tofu and pak choy next to the noodles.
- Stir the broth, and carefully ladle it over the bowls of toppings until they are about 3/4 full.
- Carefully arrange two egg halves on the side of each broth.
- Garnish with spring onions, julienned ginger and freshly sliced red chilli.
