Every once in awhile, we like to get down with a good Asian noodle soup. Japanese soups are great because they are relatively quick to throw together and have clean, uncomplicated flavors that warm the soul. Last night, the weather was crappy so this really hit the spot.
I took a lot of shortcuts with the recipe. I had a chicken stock which I threw some liquid smoke into for the 'Smoky Chicken Stock'. That, and I have no idea what iriko is. If you do, good for you! Use it. Lastly, we have a ton of rice noodles we're trying to get through before the big move, so we used them instead of ramen.
4-5 iriko (page 17), trimmed (about 1/2 ounce after trimming)
4 cups Smoky Chicken Stock (page 94)
2 cups cold water
2-3 scallions
8-9 ounces bean sprouts (about 4 cups)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sake
6-7 fresh shiitake mushrooms. stems removed and sliced, or 4 ounces fresh maitake mushrooms (page 33), trimmed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 lb. fresh or 8 ounces dried ramen, freshly cooked (page 167) or reheated (page 168)
3-4 tablespoons mugi miso (page 32)
Place the iriko, stock, and water in a 3-quart pot. Set over low heat and leave to simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour while you prepare the vegetable toppings. Check the stock every 5 or 10 minutes, adding water as needed to maintain a volume of at least 3 1/2 cups throughout the simmering time.
Trim away the root end of the scallions (these can also be added to the stock pot, to be removed later) and finely chop the green and white portions, separating them into 2 piles by their color. Rinse the bean sprouts in a basin of cold water, discarding any bean pods that float to the surface, and drain them.
Place a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the bean sprouts and the white portion of the scallions. Dry-roast for a few seconds to throw off excess moisture from the vegetables before drizzling in 1/2 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Sprinkle with the salt and stir-fry for another moment. Pour in the sake and stir-fry for yet another moment. Transfer the contents of the pan to a bowl and keep warm.
Add the mushrooms to the same pan over high heat and cook for about 15 seconds. Drizzle in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and stir-fry for another 10 seconds or so. Pour the stock through a fine-mesh strainer held directly over the pan; discard the solids from the strainer. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer while you assemble the bowls of noodles.
Warm the bowls in which you will be serving the noodles with boiling water (page 169). Place one-fourth of the noodles in each warmed bowl.
Place the miso in a miso koshi (page 77) and stir directly Into the simmering liquid. Or place the miso in a bowl, ladle in some of the hot liquid from the pan, stir mix it, and then add to the simmering liquid.
Ladle the piping-hot miso-thickened broth over the noodles and then top each bowl with a mound of the bean sprout mixture. Garnish the bowls with a shower of green scallion tops and serve immediately.
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