How to make Udon and dashi

from this blog: http://rasamalaysia.com/mie-goreng-indonesian-fried-noodles/

KITSUNE UDON RECIPE
Makes 2 bowls of udon
INGREDIENTS FOR DASHI:

4 1/2 C water
1/4 C loosely packed kezurikatsuo (shaved bonito)
3″ piece of dried dashi kombu (optional)

INGREDIENTS FOR ABURA-AGE:

1/4 C water
15 niboshi
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs mirin
1 Tbs sugar
4 squares of abura-age (thin deep fried tofu)

INGREDIENTS FOR UDON:

200g dry udon or 300g fresh Udon
4 C dashi
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs mirin
2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
2 scallions cut on the bias
4 slices of naruto or kamaboko cut on the bias (fishcake)

METHOD:

For the dashi, bring the water to a boil in a pot. Once it boils, turn the heat down to maintain a gentle simmer (boiling makes the stock cloudy). Put the kezurikatsuo into a disposable tea bag, or wrap it in cheese cloth and tie the top. Drop the satchel in the water along with the kombu if you are using it. You can also just put the kezurikatsuo straight into the water and strain it when the stock is done. Let this steep for about 15 minutes, then discard the tea bag, or strain the stock into another pot and discard the solids.

For the Abura-age. Add everything except the abura age into a small pot and bring to a boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the abura-age and simmer, flip several times until most of the liquid is absorbed and the abura-age is a deep brown color. Transfer from the pot to a small bowl and allow it to cool a bit. When it’s cool enough to handle, press out some of the excess liquid. You don’t want to squeeze all the liquid out, just enough to keep it from being salty.

Boil a large pot of water and boil the udon for the length of time specified on the package. If the instructions are in Japanese, click here to figure out how long you should boil it for. Make sure the noodles are al dente as they will be sitting in a bowl of hot broth and you don’t want them to go soggy before you’re done eating them. When they’re done, rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking.

To finish it all off, put the dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar into a pot and heat until it comes to a simmer. Taste it and add salt if you feel like it needs more. Add the noodles to heat through, then divide them into two bowls. Top with the seasoned abura-age, scallions and naruto then pour the broth over everything. For a little extra color and kick, you can serve this with shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7 spice chili flakes).


SOBA (JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT NOODLES) RECIPE
Serves 2 people
INGREDIENTS:

Soba noodles (2 rolls)
8 pieces of sliced Naruto or Japanese fishcakes
1 scallion (cut on the bias)
1 bunch spinach (lightly boiled, squeezed dry of water, and cut into 2-inch length)
1 box buna shimeji mushrooms (lightly boiled and set aside)

DASHI:

4 1/2 C water
1/4 C loosely packed kezurikatsuo (shaved bonito)
3″ piece of dried dashi kombu
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
2 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste

METHOD:

For the dashi, bring the water to a boil in a pot. Once it boils, turn the heat down to maintain a gentle simmer (boiling makes the stock cloudy). Put the dry bonito flakes into a disposable soup bag and tie the top. Drop the satchel in the water along with the kombu. Let this steep for about 30 minutes, then discard the soup bag. Add the seasonings to make the soup base.

Boil a large pot of water and boil the soba for the length of time specified on the package. When they’re done, rinse them under cold water and set aside.

Transfer the soba into two bowls, top them with spinach, naruto, buna shimeji mushrooms. Pour the dashi broth over everything. Serve immediately. If you like an extra color and kick, you can serve the soba with shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7 spice chili flakes).

AKISOBA (JAPANESE FRIED NOODLES/焼きそば)
INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. yakisoba (rinsed with water and drained)
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
2 oz. pork (cut into small pieces and marinated with some soy sauce)
2 oz. cabbage (roughly chopped into pieces)
2 oz. carrot (cut into thin strips)
Some scallions (cut into thin threads)
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake
1/2 teaspoon mirin
3 dashes white pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Heat up wok with oil. Add garlic and stir fry until light brown in color. Add pork and do a few quick stirs before adding cabbage and carrot. Stir a few times and add noodles and all the seasonings. Continue to stir-fry until the vegetables and noodles are cooked, for 1-2 minutes. Transfer out and serve immediately with some benishoga (Japanese picked ginger).

COOK’S NOTE:

You can find fresh yakisoba noodles at Japanese stores or Asian stores. Usually, they come with yakisoba seasoning sauce. You can use the sauce or make yakisoba from scratch using my yakisoba recipe above.