Rawhdney
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Mmmm.....a hot bowl of noodles and savory broth. Perfect for the upcoming cold weather months.
It's also REALLY cheap to throw together once you have bought your first round of ingredients. Don't be intimidated by some of the stuff on the list. If you're lucky enough to have some sort of Asian Market nearby that definitely helps. If not, try Whole Foods or another hippy/health store. It that doesn't work, there's always the internet.
I made this last night and it's always so damn good I thought I'd share it with the folks here...
What you will need:
1 piece of Kombu (dried kelp) 2" or 3" square - Kombu is a major source of Umami. Umami is savory yum!
2 tbsp Mirin (sweet cooking Sake)
4 tbsp soy sauce (use less or low sodium if you are concerned about salt)
1/2" Piece of ginger, smashed
White ends of two green onions
2 bunches Soba Noodle (Japanese buckwheat noodle), I've also used Udon with good results
1 cup Katsuobushi - might also be called bonita (basically, dried, smoked, shaved tuna. Put the bag in the fridge after opening otherwise it'll oxidize and get a bit fishy). I use just a little less than 1 cup.
Ok, you've got everything together. Now let's make some soup!
The first step is to add the piece of Kombu to 4 cups of cold water. Slowly (med / med-low heat) bring this to a boil. Once it boils pull out the Kombu and discard.
Now add the mirin, soy sauce, smashed piece of ginger, and the white ends of two green onions. Adjust the heat so it's just barely simmering and keep it there. Basically, the longer you let this simmer, the better your soup is going to taste. I would let it go for at least 15 or 20 min. You don't want to let too much liquid evaporate either thouh, so probably no longer than 40 min. Experiment and see what works best for you.
While the dashi (stock) is simmering, bring another pot of water to the boil to cook the noodles. Don't add salt or oil to the water though, these aren't italian noodles. Soba cook very quickly so keep an eye on them. You still want to cook until al dente (5-8 min depending on freshness of noodle). Once they are cooked, pour into a colander or strainer and rinse with cold running water for a minute or so. This is to stop them from cooking further and to wash the starches off. Let the noodles drain.
Now final step. Sprinkle the cup of Katsuobushi (fish flakes) into the stock. Let it simmer in there for 2-3 minutes. Pour the stock through a strainer into another bowl to remove the fish flakes, ginger, and onion. Return it to your cooking vessel to keep it warm.
Put some of your noodles in a bowl. Fill with stock. Congratulations. You made dashi from scratch. Most Japanese people don't even do this anymore. You win!
You can garnish your soup with some green onion slices, shreds of ginger, black sesame seeds, pieces of tofu, etc.
I like to add some togarashi for a little spice...
My wife likes to add furikake.
Douzo Meshiagare!! (enjoy your meal)
It's also REALLY cheap to throw together once you have bought your first round of ingredients. Don't be intimidated by some of the stuff on the list. If you're lucky enough to have some sort of Asian Market nearby that definitely helps. If not, try Whole Foods or another hippy/health store. It that doesn't work, there's always the internet.
I made this last night and it's always so damn good I thought I'd share it with the folks here...
What you will need:
1 piece of Kombu (dried kelp) 2" or 3" square - Kombu is a major source of Umami. Umami is savory yum!
2 tbsp Mirin (sweet cooking Sake)
4 tbsp soy sauce (use less or low sodium if you are concerned about salt)
1/2" Piece of ginger, smashed
White ends of two green onions
2 bunches Soba Noodle (Japanese buckwheat noodle), I've also used Udon with good results
1 cup Katsuobushi - might also be called bonita (basically, dried, smoked, shaved tuna. Put the bag in the fridge after opening otherwise it'll oxidize and get a bit fishy). I use just a little less than 1 cup.
Ok, you've got everything together. Now let's make some soup!
The first step is to add the piece of Kombu to 4 cups of cold water. Slowly (med / med-low heat) bring this to a boil. Once it boils pull out the Kombu and discard.
Now add the mirin, soy sauce, smashed piece of ginger, and the white ends of two green onions. Adjust the heat so it's just barely simmering and keep it there. Basically, the longer you let this simmer, the better your soup is going to taste. I would let it go for at least 15 or 20 min. You don't want to let too much liquid evaporate either thouh, so probably no longer than 40 min. Experiment and see what works best for you.
While the dashi (stock) is simmering, bring another pot of water to the boil to cook the noodles. Don't add salt or oil to the water though, these aren't italian noodles. Soba cook very quickly so keep an eye on them. You still want to cook until al dente (5-8 min depending on freshness of noodle). Once they are cooked, pour into a colander or strainer and rinse with cold running water for a minute or so. This is to stop them from cooking further and to wash the starches off. Let the noodles drain.
Now final step. Sprinkle the cup of Katsuobushi (fish flakes) into the stock. Let it simmer in there for 2-3 minutes. Pour the stock through a strainer into another bowl to remove the fish flakes, ginger, and onion. Return it to your cooking vessel to keep it warm.
Put some of your noodles in a bowl. Fill with stock. Congratulations. You made dashi from scratch. Most Japanese people don't even do this anymore. You win!
You can garnish your soup with some green onion slices, shreds of ginger, black sesame seeds, pieces of tofu, etc.
I like to add some togarashi for a little spice...
My wife likes to add furikake.
Douzo Meshiagare!! (enjoy your meal)
