Miso nikomi udon
This is a nabe dish of udon noodles and winter vegetables stewed in miso and plant-based broth. You will feel the sweetness of winter vegetables and the umami and flavor of Miso. Why don’t you enjoy miso nikomi udon on a cold winter day that will warm you up?
Make time: 40 minutes | Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
about 400g fresh udon noodles-Fresh udon noodles are preferable for miso nikomi udon as they thicken the soup nicely, but you can use dry udon noodles or frozen udon noodles. Adjust the amount of udon depending on what kind of udon you use.
Your favorite root vegetables such as Daikon radish, turnip, carrot, and so on
Leek
Your favorite mushroom
Your favorite green leafy vegetables such as mizuna
Abura-age(thin fried tofu)
1200ml plant-based broth
5 Tbs Your favorite Mis
1-2 Tbs Mirin(Japanese sweet rice wine)
Miso nikomi udon is a traditional dish in Aichi prefecture. Originally, “Hatcho miso” is used to make miso nikomi udon in this area. “Hacho miso” is made from soybeans and salt, fermented for over two years, and has a dark color and strong taste. If you want to make miso nikomi udon similar to the original one, try to find “red miso” which is made from soybeans and salt and its color is dark. However, you can make miso nikomi udon other than red miso such as rice miso. Rice miso has a milder taste, and you can enjoy the sweetness of vegetables more. We used homemade organic miso made from chickpea this time. Adjust the amount of Mirin depending on what kind of miso you use. If you use red miso, you want to add the sweetness, so probably you want to add 2 Tbs Mirin. If you use rice miso, 1 Tbs Mirin would be enough or you don’t need to add mirin.
Directions
Cut vegetables and abura-age.
Mix miso and mirin in a small mixing bowl.
Place the plant-based broth and root vegetables and leek in a nabe, a Japanese clay pot, or a big pot. Cook them on medium heat until boiling. Once the broth is boiled, add mushroom, abura-age, and green leafy vegetables. Cook them on medium heat until re-boiling.
If you use fresh udon noodles, pat the excess flour. Add udon noodles in the nabe. Loosen the noodles a bit using chopsticks or forks to prevent the noodles from sticking together.
Stew them for 5 minutes on medium-low heat.
Add miso and mirin, and melt them with the broth well. Stew them for another a few minutes.
Handmade Udon from scratch
Why don’t you try to make fresh udon from scratch? Very simple ingredients, and you can enjoy the chewy and elastic texture.
Ingredients
300g all-purpose flour /150g bread flour and 150g cake flour
9g salt
145ml warm water
*Adjust the amount of water depending on humidity and temperature.
potato starch/cornstarch/flour for sprinkling on the dough to prevent from sticking
A special type of udon without salt is usually used for Miso Nimikomi Udon, but we introduce the common way to make udon here.
Directions
Mix salt and warm water, and melt the salt. Place all-purpose flour in a mixing bowl. If you use bread flour and cake flour, mix them together. Add salt water into the flour in 3-4 addition. Mix them using your fingers. The dough will be shaggy. Knead the dough and make it into a ball shape. Then, move the dough to a cutting board, and knead it by using the palm of your hand and your body’s weight for about 10 minutes. When the dough becomes smooth and bouncy, wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for about 2 hours.
After dusting potato starch on a bread kneading table or a clean table, put the dough. Dust potato starch on the dough as well.
Use a rolling pin to stretch the dough, and make it 1/16-inch(2mm) thick and shaped like a square.
Dust potato starch on the dough, and fold the dough into thirds. Place the dough on a cutting board, and cut it in 1/16-inch(2mm) widths.
