Think udon and you probably think of a bowl of these noodles in a thick broth with some slices of pork or maybe beef - a savoury bowl of goodness. Recently though, udon has been undergoing a re-evaluation in Japan and people have been thinking of new ways to eat these lovely, thick, slippery noodles.
One of the best new dishes that I've come across is Sudachi Udon. The Sudachi is a Japanese citrus fruit and a close relative of the lime. Instead of using sudachi which is quite difficult to source outside of Japan, I use lime s a substitute. Yes, that's right, lime and udon. I'd agree the pairing sounds a little off the wall but think about it and the combination does begin to make sense. Udon noodles have little in the way of flavour so they can be easily combined with other flavours and here are always those days when you might fancy a bowl of noodles but without the richness of the broth - a day when the temperature is rising and something a little lighter, a little more refreshing, is in order. So, that's the time for a bowl of Lime Udon.
(BTW, you don't have to eat this dish hot. Just let the broth cool and refridgerate. Cool your noodles at the same time and simply combine when they've chilled and voila! - chilled Lime Udon.)
So what goes into the recipe? Obviously, udon noodles and lime are obligatory. The broth is quite simple to prepare - just some water, Ajinomoto stock granules, salt, mirin and Japanese cooking sake - just simmer for 2 - 3 minutes to evaporate the alcool from the mirin and sake and then put in the noodles. (You can use fresh or frozen noodles - I used frozen in this recipe.) Once the noodles have cooked, it's just a matter of sharing between 2 bowls and adding sliced lime and chopped spring onion. So, in 15 minutes or less, you could have a delicious, refreshing bowl of udon in a fragrant, citrus and umami flavoured broth on the table for your lunch or supper. What could be better?
If you would like to sample this recipe, you can take a look at my Youtube tutorial by clicking Lime Udon or by scrolling to the bottm of the page. The written recipe is just below.
Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX.
ingredients:
(makes 2 servings)
3 spring onions, rinsed
1 lime, rinsed
700ml / 25 fl oz water
1.5 tbsp Japanese dashi stock granules
2 tbsp Japanese cooking sake
2 tbsp mirin
1.5 tsp salt
2 portions Udon (frozen, freshly packed, dried)
remove the root stem of the spring onions, then slice finely. set aside for your topping
remove the top of the lime, then cut into 10-12 thin slices, then set aside
pour the water into a medium saucepan. add the Japanese dashi stock granules, sake, mirin, and salt. bring to the and simmer for 4-5 minutes, so that the alcohol in the sake and mirin evaporates
next, add the udon and cook according to the instructions on the packet
when the udon noodes are ready, divide them into 2 serving bowls. add the udon broth, then add the sliced lime and top with chopped spring onion.
serve immediately
Comments