Udon noodle soup
This healthy udon noodle soup combines heady 鈥渦mami鈥 Japanese flavours with fresh veg and springy, chewy noodles. You can find most of the ingredients in an Asian supermarket.
Ingredients
For the miso broth
- 5cm/2in piece kombu seaweed
- 1陆 tsp dashi powder
- 2陆cm/1in piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 tbsp white miso paste
- pinch caster sugar
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 75驳/2陆辞锄 tofu, cubed into 1cm/陆in pieces
For the stir-fried greens
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
- 4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 2 heads bok choi, sliced in quarters
- 75驳/2陆辞锄 kale, shredded
- 1 small courgette, sliced
- 50驳/2戮辞锄 sugar snap peas
- 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
- 40g/2陆oz enoki mushrooms, broken into pieces
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 tsp shichimi pepper
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 x 150g/5oz packet udon rice noodles
Method
For the miso broth, place a saucepan of water over a medium heat and add the kombu seaweed.
Add the dashi powder, stir and leave to simmer for a few minutes. Add the grated ginger, white miso paste, sugar and mirin. Taste and adjust the amount of sugar or mirin if necessary. Keep warm. To finish the miso broth, add the tofu cubes to the broth.
For the stir-fried greens, heat a wok with a little vegetable oil until shimmering, add the sliced garlic and fry gently for 10 seconds. Tip in the sliced mushrooms, bok choi, kale, courgette and sugar snap peas.
Keep stirring the contents of the wok and cook for two minutes or so, then add the soy sauce, enoki mushrooms and all but a teaspoon of the spring onions. Fry the vegetables until slightly softened, then add all but a pinch of the schicimi pepper and sesame seeds.
Meanwhile, bring a second pan, filled with water, to the boil. Drop the udon noodles into the boiling water and cook for a few minutes, or until heated through, and then drain.
To serve, lay the udon noodles in the bottom of a bowl, place the stir-fried greens on top and then ladle over the miso broth. Finish with the reserved finely sliced spring onion and a pinch of both the shichimi and sesame seeds.
Recipe Tips
Shichimi pepper is a Japanese spice blend made up of seven different spices.
