Noodles. I’m crazy about noodles. Especially in winter, because I can serve them in a delicious broth. Something I love in something else I love. The noodles I’m crazy about today are from Japan. Soba, a thin spaghetti-like variety made from, in this case, buckwheat. “Towari soba” If you’re in Japan. They’re earthy and rustic, with a slightly nutty flavor.
The recipe here is really simple, you almost don’t need one to make this, and I won’t give precise amounts for everything so you can use your cooking-sense when you make it. And I hope you do. I have this dish for breakfast on cold winter mornings, but you can have it for lunch or dinner, too. Pair it with a steaming-hot cup of green tea. Put your face down over the bowl, inhale the aromas, and then face your day. The egg is optional, so if you’re vegan, or you just don’t like eggs, skip it. But if you do like eggs, ahhhhhh……slice the white and allow the yolk to run into the broth. Instant umami intermingling with flavors of ginger, onion, and miso bathed in a broth punctuated with the savory/salty/soy sauce-like Maggi Sauce.
Ingredients (Per Serving)
1 bundle buckwheat (soba usually comes in bundles wrapped with strips of paper)
1 cup vegetable stock
Grated fresh ginger-about a generous teaspoon
3 scallions, sliced. Reserve a few slices for garnish
3-4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
½ cup cubed extra-firm tofu
Maggi Seasoning Sauce, to taste
1 tablespoon dark miso
1 cup white vinegar
1 egg
Method
1. Pour the stock into a small sauce pan. Add the ginger, scallions, mushrooms, and tofu. Gently simmer while the noodles cook.
2. Bring 4 cups of water to a good boil in a medium sauce pan.
3. Add the noodles, lower the heat to medium-high, and simmer about 5 minutes or until the noodles are done.
4. Place the miso in the bottom of the bowl you’re going to eat the noodles out of.
5. When the noodles are done, lift them out of the water with a fork and place them into the same bowl. Stir with chopsticks. The miso will coat the noodles. (now you know one of my secrets)
6. Allow the stock to continue to simmer.
7. Pour the vinegar into the still hot noodle water.
8. Bring to a gentle simmer. Just little bubbles coming to the surface.
9. Break the egg into a ramekin or teacup.
10. Stir the vinegar water with a chopstick, creating a small whirlpool. Pour the egg from the ramekin into the middle of the whirlpool.
11. Let the egg poach gently for 5 minutes. It will most likely be perfectly runny.
12. Add a few shots of Maggi Seasoning Sauce to the broth and pour over the noodles.
13. Transfer the egg with a slotted spoon and place on top of the noodles.
14. Garnish with a few scallion slices.
Serves 1
