Soba Noodle Soup

[zhemao]

Yesterday I went to Berkeley Bowl and picked up a bunch of great ingredients. So look forward to some interesting posts.

One of the ingredients was a package of dried buckwheat soba. So I decided to make some noodle soup. The base of this soup is a dashi stock. But besides the usual kombu, I also used niboshi (dried sardines) and bonito flakes for the stock.

Ingredients:

• Kombu (kelp)


• Niboshi (dried sardines)


• Bonito flakes


• Sugar


• Soy sauce


• Firm tofu


• Tree ear


• Buckwheat soba


• Scallions

Directions:

Dashi stock

1. Take a handful of sardines and pre-process them by removing the heads and stomachs. The stomach is a little black piece at the bottom just behind the head. You'll have to dig around with your finger to get it out.


2. Soak the sardines and a sheet of kombu in cold water for 30 minutes.


3. Bring the water to boil on high heat.


4. Once the water starts boiling, fish out the kombu and set it aside.


5. Turn the heat to medium low and let it simmer for 10 minutes. As the broth simmers, skim off any foam with a mesh strainer.


6. Turn off the heat, then remove and set aside the sardines.


7. Take the pot off the heat and add a handful of bonito flakes. Let it steep for a few minutes.


8. Strain the stock into a container. Let the bonito flakes cool in the strainer, then roll them into a ball and squeeze out the excess liquid.

Noodles

1. Chop the tofu into small cubes. You'll only need a handful for one serving.


2. Slice the tree ears into smaller pieces and remove the stems.


3. Bring a pot of water to boil on high heat. Once it boils, add the soba.


4. Parboil the noodles until they are soft, then drain and rinse with cold water.


5. Add two cups of dashi stock and a cup of water to the pot, then turn the heat to high.


6. Stir in a bit of soy sauce and some sugar. You don't need much extra sodium since there will be salt in the stock from the sardines.


7. Once the water starts boiling, add the tofu and tree ear.


8. Wait for the water to come to boil again, then add the noodles and scallions.


9. Turn the heat to medium and simmer until the noodles are fully cooked.

And there you have it. Buckwheat noodles have a very interesting flavor and texture. Combined with the savoriness of the dashi stock, you get a really delicious but light noodle soup.

You can save the dashi stock ingredients for use in other recipes. The kombu can be boiled a second time for a lighter stock. The sardines and bonito flakes can be added to a stir fry for a nice fishy flavor. I'll post a follow-up recipe using those two later.

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Seafood Fried Rice

[zhemao]

What do when you have leftover dashi ingredients and white rice? Make fried rice of course! For this dish, we'll also use reconstituted dried shrimp, which will add a nice salty crunchiness.

Ingredients:

• Dried shrimp


• Parboiled sardines


• Steeped bonito flakes


• Egg


• Carrots


• Onion


• Scallions


• Garlic


• White pepper


• Black pepper


• Sugar


• Salt


• Vegetable oil


• Cooked white rice

Directions:

1. Soak the dried shrimp in warm water to reconstitute it.


2. Chop about half a carrot into thin slices using diagonal cuts.


3. Finely chop a quarter of an onion


4. Finely chop a clove of garlic


5. Remove the shrimp from the water and shake off the excess liquid. Reserve the water for later.


6. Add a bit of vegetable oil to a pan and turn the heat to medium.


7. Lightly beat two eggs and add a bit of salt and black pepper.


8. Add the eggs to the pan and gently scramble. Don't stir too much at this point. Remove the eggs once they solidify, but before they get too hard.


9. Add some more oil to the pan and turn the heat to medium high.


10. Add the shrimp, sardines, bonito flakes, and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant. Make sure to break up the bonito if it's in a clump.


11. Add the carrots and onion. Stir fry until the onion browns slightly.


12. Turn the heat to medium and add the shrimp water.


13. Add some sugar and white pepper. You don't need any extra salt, since the shrimp and anchovies are plenty salty.


14. Simmer for about a minute until the carrots are almost cooked. They should no longer be crunchy, but not completely soft.


15. If your rice was refrigerated, it will be in a solid block. Break it up with a spatula or your hands.


16. Turn the heat back to medium high and toss in the rice.


17. Stir and make sure that the rice grains are separated and well mixed with the other ingredients.


18. Add the egg and scallions. Stir to break up the egg and distribute it evenly.


19. Once the water has mostly been absorbed or evaporated, let the rice sit to get a bit of toasting. Turn the rice occasionally.


20. Once you see a bit of charring, turn off the heat and serve.

And there you have it. Fried rice is always a great way to use up leftovers, and this one turned out to be quite delicious. The dried shrimp, sardines, and bonito give the rice a really great fishy flavor.

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