Soba Noodles in Sweet Soy Broth
INGREDIENTS- 3 tbsp dried wakame seaweed
- 1 lbs (450g) dried soba noodles
- 1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced
- 4 to 6 tbsp red pickled ginger
- 4 to 6 eggs (optional)
- 1/4 cup (60g) sugar
- 1 1/3 cups (330ml) mirin
- 5 tsp dashi powder dissolved in 4 cups (1 litre) water
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp Japanese seven-spice chilli powder (optional)
- Soak seaweed in cold water till reconstituted (5 mins)
- Drain and set aside
- Cook noodles according to packaging instructions
- Drain and rinse in cold water to remove excess starch
- Divide noodles between 4 to 6 bowls
- Arrange seaweed, leek and pickled ginger on top of noodles
- Crack egg carefully into center of each bowl
- Combine sugar and mirin in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir till sugar is dissolved
- Add dashi mixture and soy sauce, stir and bring to boil
- Immediately boil hot broth over noodles
- Serve sprinkled with seven-spice chilli powder if desired
Soba is the Japanese word for buckwheat. However, it is more commonly used to refer to thin Japanese noodles made from buckwheat flour. It is served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. Moreover, it is not uncommon in Japan to refer to any thin noodle as soba in contrast to udon which are thick noodle made from wheat. Link
