Soba Noodle Soup

This is another recipe from "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat" by Naomi Moriyama. The dish is meant to be eaten cold but I find it just as good hot. Just make sure the soba noodles you buy are 100% buckwheat if gluten is an issue for you. Some brands contain wheat.

Soba Noodle Soup

Ingredients

450ml Japanese dashi** or vegan fish stock (dashi is more subtle but more fiddly)
100ml mirin
100ml wheat free soy sauce
350g dried soba noodles
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
100g finely grated daikon radish (optional)
2 Tbls ground white sesame seeds (optional)
Wasabi (fresh or from tube)
1 square nori sheet, torn into thin ribbons (optional)


Method

Combine stock, mirin and soy sauce in a medium saucepan over a high heat and bring to boil.

Turn off heat and let cool to room temperature.
Bring a large saucepan of water to boil and cook soba noodles as per packet instructions.

After cooking, rinse thoroughly and drain.
To serve place a portion of noodles in a bowl, cover in soup and place all garnishes in small bowls on the side so everyone can choose according to taste.

** Dashi is a Japanese soup/dipping sauce base made from seaweed and bonito flakes.
To make Japanese dashi (or soup base) take a 10cm x 10cm piece of kombu seaweed and add to 1 litre of cold water.

Bring to almost boil and immediately remove kombu to avoid bitterness.
Add vegan fish flakes (such as dulse flakes) or just use vegan fish stock.
Bring to boil and take off heat, allowing to sit for a few minutes.

Drain liquid through a sieve lined with muslin to remove flakes and prevent stock from becoming cloudy. (Personally if I'm just using dulse flakes I'll leave them in the soup base because they have a lot of nutritional value.)
Store in refrigerator for up to 2 days.