I made a very miso-ey miso udon for lunch....it's inspired by Nagoya's specialty, "Miso-nikomi Udon", for which the firm fresh udon is cooked in the broth based with their local "Hatcho Miso" (very dark color, made only from soybeans, koji, and salt).
For my quick lunch version, I cooked the udon noodles and the broth separately. Here's my recipe. "Akadashi" refers to the dark broth made with "Hatcho Miso".
Quick Akadashi Udon
Ingredients (for 1 serving)
1 cup dashi broth
1 tablespoon sake
1 tablespoon mirin
1.5 tablespoons "Hatcho miso"
soy sauce to taste (optional)
1 serving of udon
some fresh or rehydrated wakame, cut into bite-size pieces
some slices of tofu
soft boiled egg
some sliced scallion
about 1 tbsp of grated ginger
shichimi pepper
Procedure
1. In a small sauce pan, heat the dashi stock. Add the sake and mirin.
2. Dissolve the miso in the broth. Adjust the flavor by adding a little amount of soy sauce, if necessary. Keep the broth hot.
3. Cook the udon noodle according to the package's instructions.
4. Transfer the drained udon to a noodle bowl. Pour the broth over the noodles.
5. Decorate the surface with the wakame, tofu, egg, scallion, and ginger.
6. Serve with shichimi pepper as a condiment.
Because the broth is based with the dark "Hatcho Miso", the flavor is so deep and it's very satisfying. I loved it very much.
