Udon Noodle Soup

Vegetarian
Nov 20, 2017
2 min read

I have always loved going out to eat Japanese food, but I have never had the courage to try cooking it myself. There are so many different ingredients and flavors that I haven't used before and was excited to do so.

Finally I took the leap, headed to the grocery store, and whipped up so delicious Udon Noodle Soup! I would definitely make a bigger batch next time as this recipe only serves 2 for a meal, or 4 for a side dish. But the amazing Umami flavor from the miso pasta hit the spot without adding any meat. Umami is the savory taste we get from eating meat, mushrooms, tomatoes, yeast, and soy sauce. Umami is also added to many prepared products, most commonly as monosodium glutamate (MSG), and most people tend to avoid this additive. However, that doesn't mean you have to miss out the umami taste in foods naturally other than those listed about by using savory ingredients or adding mushroom powder, or Takki, to your favorite dish. Umami is the most recently tastes (like sweet, salty, sour, bitter) and shouldn't be discounted when forming a flavorful meal.

Udon Noodle Soup

Yield: 2 entrees or 4 sides

Ingredients:

Udon Noodles (1 pack fresh or 1 serving dried)

2 Eggs

1 head Baby Bok Choy

3 cloves Garlic

1 Lime

1 medium Carrot

3 Green Onions

1 T Ginger

1/4 cup Miso Paste

1 T Hoisin Sauce

1 T Toasted Sesame Oil

2 T Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Roasted Peanuts for garnish

Directions:

Wash and prepare produce: mince garlic and ginger, thinly slice green onions (keep the white and green portions separate), peel and slice the carrot, roughly chop the baby bok choy, and cut the lime in half.
Place the eggs in a small pot and cover with water. Place on the stove over high heat, bring to a boil, turn down to a light simmer and cook for 7 minutes (no longer). Remove eggs from the heat and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Cooke the noodles in a medium pot if using dry noodles according to the package (cook 2 minutes less than listed on the directions), if using fresh udon noodles don't worry about this step.
While the eggs and noodles cook, in a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, ginger, and white portion of the green onions. Stir for about 1 minute of medium high heat.
Add the carrot and season with salt and pepper (be scarce with the salt as miso adds salt as well). Cook for about 3 minutes.
Now stir in the miso, hoisin sauce, and 6 cups of water. Bring the soup to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Then add the baby bok choy and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the noodles, sesame oil, and juice from the lime. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and season if needed.
Peel and half the eggs. Chop the peanuts.
Divide the soup into bowls and top with the eggs, chopped peanuts and the green portion of the green onion. Enjoy!