Nabeyaki Udon
Comforting noodle dish, perfect for a rainy day. Great as a way to use up miscellaneous leftover vegetables; you can pretty much add anything as long as it retains its shape when cooked in a soup. For maximum effect, try preparing the entire dish in an earthenware pot.
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 30 min
Ingredients
Broth:
> dashi (3 cups)
> mirin (2 tbsp)
> soy sauce (2 tbsp)
> sugar (1/2 tbsp)
> salt (1/2 tsp)
Ingredients:
> udon (1 lb)
> boneless chicken thigh, cut into small cubes (1 lb)
> carrot, cut into small pieces (2)
> spinach (3 oz)
> fish cake, cut into thin slices (3 oz)
> button mushroom, quartered (6)
> green onion, cut into 2-inch pieces (1 bunch)
> egg (2)
> Japanese chili pepper
Instructions
1. In a heavy bottom pot, bring all the ingredients for the broth up to a boil.
2. Add chicken and cook at a simmer for a couple of minutes, or until almost fully cooked through.
3. Add carrots, cook for a minute or two.
4. Add udon, spinach, button mushroom, fish cake, green onion. Incorporate all the ingredients together. Crack two eggs over the top, cover, and let simmer until the eggs are almost poached.
5. Serve with Japanese chili pepper.
Notes/Tips:
> Nabeyaki udon roughly translates to "hot pot udon". As the name suggests, feel free to add whatever ingredients you have on hand that would work well in hot pot. Aside from the ingredients in the recipe (udon, chicken, carrot, spinach, fish cake, mushrooms, green onions, eggs), common additions include other mushrooms, fried tofu, snow peas, shrimp tempura (served on the side), etc.
> I kind of just mixed everything together, but for optimal plating arrange the miscellaneous ingredients on top.
> Most recipes don't call for sugar in the broth, but I find that a tiny amount helps balance everything out nicely. If you happen to have kombu and bonito flakes, you could try making your own dashi. Otherwise, the dried Hondashi dashi works just fine.
> These ingredient amounts serve roughly 2 people. For an individual portion, halve the ingredient amounts. Try using an earthenware pot if you can!