Post: Year-End Noodles

Servings: 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 3  cups  water  (720 ml)
• 1  piece  kombu (dried kelp) (4″ x 4” or 10 cm x 10 cm)
• 1  Tbsp  sake
• 2  Tbsp  mirin
• 2  Tbsp  soy sauce
• ¼ tsp  sea salt
• 7  oz  dried soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) (200 g)

Toppings

• 2 Tbsp dried wakame seaweed (4 g or 0.1 oz)
• 2  spring onions 
• Cooked mushroom and/or sliced omelette and/or tempura vegetables and/or dumpling and/or marinated kale
• Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese seven spice)

METHOD:

1. Soak the kombu in the water overnight or for 1 hr before using.
2. Gather all the ingredients. Bring a big pot of water to a boil for soba noodles.
3. Add the kombu and kombu water (kombu dashi) in a medium saucepan. Slowly bring it to a boil over medium low heat. When almost boiling, discard the kombu
4. Add the sake, mirin, soy sauce, and salt.
5. Bring it to a simmer and set aside.

To Prepare Toppings

1. Re-hydrate wakame seaweed in 1 cup water. Then squeeze the water out and set aside.
2. Thinly slice the green onion.
3. Make omelette and then cool before rolling and slicing thinly, and/or
4. Lightly fry the mushrooms, and/or
5. Prepare dumplings according to packet instructions and preference, and/or
6. Massage thinly sliced kale with olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper and/or
7. Prepare tempura vegetables

To Serve Soba Noodles

1. Cook soba noodles in the pot of boiling water, according to the package instruction, but 30 seconds less. Unlike pasta, you do not need to add salt to the water.
2. Drain the soba noodles and rinse under cold water to get rid of the starch. Serve the noodles in the bowl.
3. Pour hot broth over soba noodles, top with wakame seaweed, and green onions and any other toppings you have prepared.  

Enjoy while hot!

This recipe is adapted from the wonderful Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook.

Happy New Year everyone.

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