David Rubel's

What's For Dinner?

2/15/06 

Nabeyaki Udon (Japanese Noodle Soup)

(serves two parents and two children)
The key ingredient in this dish is the dashi. It’s a common Japanese soup base made from kelp and dried bonito flakes, but all you need is the granulated "instant" kind, available in all Asian markets. Buy a big box. This meal is so easy, so tasty, and so healthful that you’ll be using dashi a lot.

• 1 8 oz.-pkg udon noodles
• 7 1/2 c cold water
• 6 Tbs soy sauce
• 2 Tbs mirin (see tip below)
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 1 Tbs granulated dashi (or follow package instructions)
• 1/2 lb shrimp (see tip below)
• 1/4 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced
• 1/4 lb snow peas, trimmed
• 4 scallions, trimmed and cut into half-inch pieces
• 4 eggs

1. Cook the udon noodles in boiling water until just done. Rinse well in cold water to remove the surface starch and drain. (This can be done well in advance and the noodles refrigerated.)

2. In a sufficiently large saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Combine the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. When the water boils, reduce the heat and add the granulated dashi along with the soy sauce mixture. Stir to combine as the broth simmers.

3. While the water for the broth heats, clean, shell, and devein the shrimp. Also prepare the shiitakes, snow peas, and scallions.

4. When the broth is ready, place the noodles in a large, wide pot. Top with the shrimp, shiitakes, snow peas, and scallions. Then add the broth, cover, and bring the soup to a boil.

5. Once the shrimp is cooked through, crack the eggs, one at a time, over the pot so that they drop into the broth. Cover the pot again, and continue boiling the broth until the yolks of the eggs are cooked but still soft. Serve immediately.

6. Remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms, then slice the caps. Drain the bamboo shoots.

Back to the Top

Japanese Restaurant Salad Dressing
This dressing tastes best over crisp, mild lettuce such as iceberg or romaine. You can add shredded carrot, if you like, for a little diversity.

• 1/4 c peanut oil
• 2 Tbs rice vinegar
• 2 Tbs cold water
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs orange juice
• half a small onion, coarsely chopped
• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar

Combine the ingredients in a mini-chopper and puree until smooth.

Back to the Top

Tips

* Mirin, a type of Japanese rice wine, is generally available these days in the ethnic section of most supermarkets. In a pinch, you can substitute dry sherry. But, better yet, buy a bottle while you’re shopping for the granulated dashi.

*You can substitute freely with this recipe. For instance, instead of shrimp, you can use slices of boneless chicken breast or boneless pork chop. (Make sure that the slices are thin enough to cook quickly.) You can even make this dish meatless by using diced tofu.

*Authentic nabeyaki udon contains a leafy garnish called mitsuba, usually translated as "trefoil." It looks like cilantro but tastes very different, so don’t use cilantro as a substitute. Instead, I sometimes add fresh spinach. To do so, remove the stems and wash the leaves thoroughly. (Try to avoid prepackaged spinach, which typically uses off-tasting alum as a preservative.) Add the washed leaves just before cracking the eggs. They’ll wilt almost immediately.

* When assembling the final dish, it’s best to use a low, wide pot rather than a tall, narrow one. In a low, wide pot, the top layer of broth comes to a boil much more quickly. This speeds up the cooking of the eggs and prevents the other ingredients from becoming overcooked.

Listener Feedback
Christoph Hitz offers this variation on the salad dressing recipe: 1/4 cup peanut (or sesame) oil, the juice of a lemon, a small carrot, a tablespon of soy sauce, a two-inch piece of fresh peeled ginger, and two garlic cloves. Chop the vegetables and then puree all the ingredients in a blender, adding orange juice as needed to keep the dressing liquified. “It's almost like a raw ginger carrot soup,” according to Christoph.

If you have tried one of these recipes and have an improvement or tip or variation to suggest, please e-mail David at dinner@wamc.org. Also feel free to send along your own family cuisine recipes. You can even request dishes that you'd like David to present in the future.

---

David Rubel is president of Agincourt Press, a book production company in Chatham, New York. He spends his days writing American history, then heads home after work to cook for his wife and two young children. His most recent book is The Story of America (DK, 2002).