This is my variant of dish I've had many times in Japan, mostly in Osaka where it is popular. The broth is what makes this wonderful, hands down.
Ingredients:
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups water
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup of mirin (Japanese cooking sake)
1 cup of bonito flakes (Japanese dried fish skin/scales)
2 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. black pepper
3 star anise bulbs
4 tbsp. nuoc cham or other fish sauce
2 tbsp. yellow miso paste
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. chili oil
1 small onion, diced
16 oz. package of udon noodles
Water for noodles
16 oz. package of firm tofu
2 tbsp. canola or other neutral oil
Salt
1 cup of scallions, chopped
Directions:
Combine all ingredients except for tofu, oil, noodles, salt, and scallions into a large pot. Bring the pot up to a boil then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer the broth on low heat for about 90 minutes.
Drain all water from the tofu and cut it into one inch cubes. Sprinkle salt over all the tofu cubes. In a wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Place the tofu cubes into the hot oil, turning them frequently, searing until brown on all sides - about 5 - 6 minutes. Place tofu cubes on a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Put a little salt into the water. Place the udon noodles into the boiling water and cook for approximately 7 - 8 minutes (package directions sometimes recommend longer cooking times... ignore those directions for this recipe :)). Drain the noodles and then run ice cold water over them to shock them and stop the cooking.
Put 1 cup of cooked noodles into a large soup bowl. Place several cubes of tofu in the bowl. Ladle in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the cooked broth. Top with some chopped scallions. Serve immediately.
(note: shredded poached chicken or thinly sliced halibut filet pieces can be substituted for tofu. If you use halibut, do not pre-cook it - place it into the prepared soup bowls raw as it will poach through in the hot broth).
Makes 8 servings.
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