Spinach & Shrimp Udon Soup

Udon soup is on the menu for lunch today. I've posted the chicken version of this soup before, but something prevented me from actually posting the recipe that evening (probably just too lazy).

So, this is a dashi based broth, with fresh baby spinach, shrimp, poached egg, and spring onion. Cooked chicken works equally well in the place of shrimp.

Not so Humble Spinach & Shrimp Udon Soup:
Serves 4
3/4 lb large shrimp, cooked, shelled and tails removed
1 1/2 lbs fresh thick udon noodles
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon granulated dashi
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
green onion
cayenne pepper

4 eggs
1 teaspoon rice vinegar

In a saucepan with several cups of water and a teaspoon of rice vinegar, poach 4 eggs for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. Remove the eggs from the hot water, place in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from cooking further and set aside. Meanwhile, heat 5 cups of water over medium heat and add the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, vinegar, mirin and granulated dashi. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low.

In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook the udon for 3 minutes and divide into 4 bowls bowls. Refill the pan with more hot water and bring to a boil. Add the spinach and cook for 20 seconds until bright green and slightly wilted. Remove from heat and squeeze the excess water from the spinach. Divide the spinach between the bowls and top each with a poached egg.

Add the cooked shrimp to the simmering broth and poach briefly, just long enough to heat them through (about 20 seconds) and then ladle the shrimp and the broth into the bowls. If using raw shrimp, add them to the simmering broth and cover. Within about 3-5 minutes the shrimp should be opaque, bright pink and cooked through.



Top the bowls with a little chopped green onion, sprinkle the egg with a little cayenne pepper and serve.

Cold Buckwheat Noodles

Trying to make up for all that cheesecake that has been going around the humble household with a light lunch today. Cold Japanese buckwheat noodles with green onion, sesame seeds and toasted crumbled nori. Served with wasabi, pickled ginger and a dipping sauce.

This is a very easy meal to throw together, just boil some buckwheat noodles and rinse well with cold water and let drain. Assemble a serving of noodles on a plate and top with freshly toasted sesame seeds (medium heat in a dry skillet) and chopped green onion. I quickly toast a sheet of nori over a gas flame and then crumble over the noodles.

For the dipping sauce I mix the following together:

1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon dashi granules
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 cup mirin
1 tablespoon bonito flakes

I heat this mixture to barely a simmer and let sit for a few minutes, then strain through a fine mesh sieve, discarding the bonito flakes. Let the sauce cool to room temperature and it is ready to serve with the cold noodles.

Oishii Salmon Ramen

I spent my freshmen year of college knocking out my degree's foreign language requirements, in my case this was Japanese. I spent a lot of time loafing around the school of Asian studies and hanging out in their lovely Japanese style garden. That's where I met Samurai Wannabe. Walking around campus with a karate kid like bandana tied around his anime spiked blond hair. He infused every interaction with utmost gravitas. This guy wasn't messing around. He was living the lifestyle; I'm pretty sure off campus he carried around a sword, if not two.

I miss that guy. He reminded me that maybe you shouldn't take yourself too seriously. Something that clearly I don't try to do here.

Well Seattle Samurai Wannabe, I'm sorry I never remembered your real name. This soup is for you.

Ramen with Pacific Northwest twist.



Not so Humble's Oishii Salmon Ramen:

8 oz fresh ramen noodles (Not the instant stuff. If you can't find these and don't feel like making them, substitute a thin chinese egg noodles or packets of fresh 'stir fry' noodles)

Soup
4 cups vegetable stock
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon peeled and grated ginger
1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 cup bean sprouts
1 green chili, seeded and sliced
2 cups baby spinach leaves (optional)
fresh cilantro

Salmon
1 pound of wild pacific northwest coho, skin removed and sliced into four filets.

3 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons of mirin
1 teaspoons grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic
1/2 teaspoon hot chili sauce - sriracha (optional)

Cook the ramen according to the package directions.

Mix the ingredients for the salmon and glaze each piece. Place the salmon under the broiler for roughly four minutes on one side. The flesh should flake easily but the center should remain moist and pink.

Add the garlic, ginger and soy sauce to the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer.

Boil 4 cups of water in a small pan and add the spinach, cooking briefly till it has just wilted. Remove the spinach from the water and squeeze the spinach to remove any excess liquid.

Divide the spinach between four bowls, then add the noodles. Pour the broth over the noodles and add a filet of salmon to each. Sprinkle with the bean sprouts, chilies, and cilantro.

Singapore Street Noodles

The first time I had this yummy noodle dish was in Singapore and they tried to hurt me. It was delicious but the meal's enticing flavor belied the evil lurking within. The noodles resulted in one of the longest bus rides in history, where I contemplated stomach churning, how mortifying it would be for me to get sick on a crowded Singapore bus.

I've made peace with this dish and it has long since made up for the wrongs it has done to me.

Not so Humble's Singapore Street Noodles (The non-evil kind):

150 grams of Rice Vermicelli noodles

2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
1/2 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 pound pork loin sliced sliced thinly
2 cups chopped chinese cabbage
2 thai chilies seeded and chopped
2 cups broccli florrets
1 1/2 cups small cooked shrimp
1 tablespoon turmeric
2-4 teaspoons green thai curry paste

chopped cilantro
shredded green onion


Cook or soak the noodles according to the package direction. Unless you have these noodles and then just treat them like you do other rice noodles (soak in hot water till tender) and hope for the best. I tried out a new brand today and though they were nearly twice as much as my normal rice vermicelli they were not as sturdy. Delicious though, similar to Japanese somen.

In your wok heat oil and add onion and garlic and cook a minute or two till the onion softens. Add the sliced pork and cook for a few minutes till pork acquires a little color. Add the broccoli and 1/2 cup of water and cover the wok for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage, chilies, and shrimp and stir fry a minute longer. Mix the curry paste with a few tablespoons of water and add it with the turmeric to the wok. Add the cooked rice noodles and gently toss with a pair of forks. Serve garnished with the green onion and cilantro.