This is a great recovery meal with healthy soba noodles and nourishing kuzu broth.
Serves 4
Ingredients
400g Clearspring 100% Buckwheat Soba Noodles
80g carrot, cut into thin strips
2 leek, thinly sliced
200g age (deep fried tofu), wiped off any excess oil on the surface with paper towel, sliced into thin strips
12 lotus root slices (soaked in water for 2 hours)
Stock Soup: soak the Clearspring Kombu and Clearspring Shiitake in water at least 30 minutes in a saucepan.
20cmx5cm Clearspring Kombu
8 dried Clearspring Shiitake
800ml cold water
Seasonings:
3 tbsp Clearspring Tamari Soya Sauce
2 tbsp Clearspring Mikawa Mirin or Clearspring Rice Mirin
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp Clearspring Traditional Sea Salt
To make ankake (thick sauce):
2 tbsp Clearspring Kuzu, dissolved in 2 tbsp cold water
Garnishing:
2 tsp ginger, grated
1 tbsp Clearspring Toasted Sesame Oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
4 mangetout, lightly boiled, sliced into a half
Method
1. To make Clearspring Kombu and three dried shiitake or maitake mushrooms in about 2 litres of water for at least 15 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, and thinly slice the caps. Then return them to the water, bring it to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the kombu and keep it to use for cooking as a condiment or with beans.
">dashi, bring the kombu and shiitake in a water to the boil, but take the kombu out just before boiling.
2. Simmer the shiitake for 10 minutes, then take them out. (skim a scum off if it is needed) 3. Add the seasonings (soy sauce, mirin, sake, salt) to the dashi, bring it to the boil.
4. Add the carrot, leek, age (deep fried tofu) and lotus root, then simmer with low heat until the carrot is cooked.
5. In the meantime, prepare the soba noodle by following an instructions on a package. *be careful that it will overflow when the soba noodles are cooking. Add water to the pan or reduce the heat if it is required. Place the soba noodle on serving plates.
6. To make the ankake sauce, while the sauce is simmering with low heat, slowly pour the kuzu and water mixture into the pan (before you pour the mixture, give a stir to combine well). Stirring for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens.
7. Serve the ankake sauce on top of the soba noodle, then garnishing with ginger, give a drizzle of the sesame oil and sesame seeds to add an extra flavour.
