Cold and rainy weather make it an ideal time for udon noodles. When I lived in Kyoto, ankake udon was one of my favorite winter time dishes. Ankake udon soup is thickened with starch and grated ginger adds a zing and warmth. I love the big fat noodles and you can add your own garnishes to suit your own taste.
We recently had a meeting to re-start our Japanese tea garden project at
Ryokusuido. Part of the meeting was making and eating udon.
Below is a recipe for ankake udon from one of my former students, Ikuko. Thank you for teaching us.
Ankake Udon (recipe for 2 people)
Make dashi soup stock. You can do this one of three ways:
- From scratch: for each 2 1/2 cups of water use a piece of dried konbu (kelp seaweed) 2" x 1". Wipe konbu with a clean damp cloth and place in pot of cold water. Bring to boil. Just before water boils, remove and discard konbu. Add 1/2 cup of katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) and remove from heat. Strain any foam that forms on the surface. Let bonito flakes settle to the bottom. Let steep for a few minutes then strain through several layers of cheesecloth.
- Use dashi powder (hon-dashi or dashi-no-moto) following package directions. Try to find one without MSG.
- Use a combination of konbu and dashi powder.
Make Udon soup:
For every 2 1/2 cups of dashi stock add:
2T sake
2T mirin
2T shoyu (soy sauce)
1/2 t salt
Adjust the combination above to your own taste.
Then mix a paste of
2 1/2 T of katakuriko (potato starch) or cornstarch
4T of water
Stir slowly and gently into the heated stock. The soup will begin to thicken, allow to simmer gently for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Cook udon noodles in boiling salted water until done (approx. 8-10 minutes). Drain.
To serve, put Udon noodles in a bowl, add soup and garnish with 1/2 to 1 t. of fresh grated ginger, 2T of finely sliced green onions, and shichimi (blended hot peppers) to taste. Sliced shiitake mushrooms cooked in dashi, and/or fried tofu squares may be added. Other vegetables (also cooked in dashi) can be added for additional garnish.
Enjoy!