Quick And Easy Udon Noodle Soup Recipes

MAKE-IT-YOUR-OWN UDON NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Prepare noodles according to package directions, and drain. Toss with a teaspoon of sesame, olive, vegetable or canola oil to prevent them from sticking together, and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil until it shimmers, and sauté the grated ginger and garlic until you smell it (less than a minute). Do your best not to burn it. Add 2 cups of stock to the pot. Be careful - it might splatter.
• Bring the stock to a boil, and lower the heat to a simmer (about medium-low). Add carrots (or any hard, root vegetables, if using), and cook until they are crisp-tender, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add tofu or any vegetables (except spinach), and cook until tender but still bright in color, about 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat, and cover to keep warm.
• In a small pot, heat the remaining 1 cup of stock until it steams. Remove from the heat, and whisk in the miso paste until the miso is completely dissolved, then pour the entire miso mixture into the pot with the soup. (If using soy sauce instead of miso, skip this part and add the rest of the stock and soy sauce.) Stir in the cooked noodles and fresh spinach, if using, and heat through over medium-low, if necessary. Do not bring the soup to a boil with the miso: Some cooks believe this can ruin the miso's delicate flavor. Top as desired and season additionally, if desired, with soy sauce.

QUICK AND EASY UDON NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Add cooking oil to a large soup pot and heat over medium-high heat on the stove top. Add the mushrooms and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until golden. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
• In the same pot, add a touch more oil, if it is dry, then add the garlic, red pepper flakes and ginger (or ginger paste) and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds. Add the broth, soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil. Bring the broth to a simmer. Add udon noodles and cook until tender (frozen udon will take longer than shelf-stable).
• Add spinach (or other greens) to the pot, together with the reserved browned mushrooms, green onion and cilantro. Stir in Asian chili garlic sauce, if using, to taste. Cook soup a bit longer to allow the flavours to blend. *If soup becomes too thick, add a bit more broth or water, as needed.
• To finish, add juice of 1/2 lime to the soup. Stir in. Taste soup and salt well, as needed (and/or alternately, add a bit more soy sauce, which will add some saltines to the soup, as well).
• To serve, ladle soup into bowls and serve with additional green onion, cilantro, sesame seeds and additional Asian chili garlic sauce.