Noodles in dashi are as much a comfort food for Japanese as chicken noodle soup is for many westerners. While simplicity itself, this dish offers complex flavors and textures – sweet and salty, smoky and spicy, and slightly chewy with a bit of crunch.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
- 1.5 liters/52 fl oz/6 cups dashi II
- 3 scallions (spring onions), 2 cut into 4 cm/1½ inch lengths, 1 thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 60 ml/2 fl oz/¼ cup mirin
- 60 ml/2 fl oz/¼ cup) shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 400 g/14 oz fresh udon noodles
- Shichimi togarashi (seven-spice mix), to serve, optional
Method:
Pour the dashi into a large saucepan and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer.
Add the lengths of scallion to the dashi along with the mirin, shoyu and sugar and stir to combine. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the noodles and cook, stirring gently, for 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and rinse.
Divide the noodles among four warmed serving bowls. Top with the thinly sliced scallion. Ladle the broth over the top. If you like, pass around the shichimi togarashi for sprinkling.