●KINOKO NO ANKAKE UDON- Mushroom Udon
*Udon is a kind of noodle made out of flour, salt and water. They can
either be round or flat. One can make this noodle from scratch, preparing
the dough, rolling it out and cutting. Also, they can be purchased at grocery
stores. Udon like most other noodles in Japan, comes in two kinds; they are
either cooked or dried. The dried ones are just like spaghetti and they need
to be boiled before eaten. The cooked ones are boiled noodles which are
vacuum packed.
＜Ingredients(for four)＞
4 servings of dried udon
360g mixed mushrooms (maitake, shimeji, etc.)
1 fried bean curd(prepared into thin rectangular cuts)
1/2 bunch spinach (boiled and cut into bite size pieces)
20g grated ginger
Broth for udon:
7 cups water
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin (sweetened rice wine)
1 konbu (sea kelp) about 10 cm
50g bonito shavings
50g kuzu starch
*thickener extracted from the root of the kuzu vine
1)Discard the hard root and part of the stem from the mushrooms and tear
into bite size pieces.
2)Cook the udon in boiling water for 7 to 8 minutes and drain in a colander.
Rinse under cold running water and to remove starch from the surface, rub
with hands.
3)Heat the udon broth and add the prepared fried bean curd. After it comes
to a boil, remove any scum on surface and add the mushrooms. When it
comes to a boil again, remove the scum and boil again for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the dissolved kuzu starch and thicken the broth.
4)Reheat the cooked udon and drain with a colander. Place in a bowl and
pour a liberal amount of the thickened broth. Garnish with grated ginger
and boiled spinach.