Seafood & Udon Noodles Soup

Udon noodles soup comes with so many recipes and different dashi stock. While I was waiting at the Japan airport, I order Nabeyaki Udon soup with seafood topping. It is thick udon noodles soup that is topped with a variety of chicken, tempura shrimp or fish cake. After tasting this soup, I thought that I could create this simple soup for myself at home because the dashi stock is the basic broth to make any kind of udon soup. The easiest dashi stock is the one using dried kelp and Katsuobushi powder or Bonito flakes (shaved tuna). I am not an expert in Japanese cooking, but I love the Japanese cuisine for its simplicity and healthy benefits. I hope that someday I will create many more easy Japanese recipes. Today, I will make this udon soup to remember my trip to Vietnam.

Ingredients:
Ingredients for the vegetarian dashi stock:
6 cups water
5” x 5” dried kelp

1/2 cup Bonito flakes

Ingredients for the udon soup:
All the dashi stock
Seafood of your choice: cod fillet, shrimps, squid etc..
1/4 cup daikon
1 carrot, sliced
4 shitake mushrooms, soaked in water, and sliced
1 leek, white part only, washed and sliced
3 eggs
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tbs miring (sweet cooking wine)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
12 oz fresh udon

Directions:
To make Dashi stock:
Soak the kelp in 5 cups of water for 1 hour. After soaking kelp, bring water to just beginning to boil.

Remove from heat and add A needle flakes. Let sit for 1 hour then drain the stock over a coffee filter.
To make Udon soup:
Pour dashi stock into a soup stock. Add carrots, daikon , mushrooms, garlic, and ginger. Bring to boil and season with soy sauce, salt, and miring. Simmer for 5 minutes.

 Add seafood of your choice (if using different varieties of seafood, cut into bite size pieces). Skim off any residue that rises to the top. Add fresh Udon noodles and leeks. At this point, either carefully poach the eggs  or fry the eggs sunny side up and place on top of the serving bowl. Serve.