Japanese broth with udon noodles recipe

This Japanese broth with udon noodles is packed with fat slurpy noodles in a deliciously fragrant soup.

When you want something warming and comforting, it's hard to beat the rich, umami flavour of miso soup with noodles. In this recipe, we've combined it with with zingy fresh ginger, garlic and fine fillet steak, for a decadent treat. You can make this meaty soup completely suitable for vegetarians and vegans by choosing vegetable stock and soy instead of fish paste. Replace the sliced steak by doubling the amount of mushrooms used and add extra mangetout. Garnish with some crispy fried onions or a couple of sheets of dried seaweed, torn into strips.

Ingredients

• 175g dried udon noodles
• 1.5 litres vegetable or beef stock (use 3 cubes)
• 5cm piece of fresh root ginger, sliced into thin slivers
• 1 sachet miso instant soup paste
• 1-2 tbsp fish sauce or soy sauce, to taste
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
• 1 large clove garlic, thinly sliced, optional
• 250g mixed mushrooms — button, shiitake, oyster, thinly sliced or torn into bite-sized pieces
• 100g mangetout, cut into fine strips
• 150g finely sliced fillet steak
• 2 spring onions, trimmed and shredded, optional
• Lime wedges, to serve

Method

1. Cook the noodles in a large pan of boiling salted water, according to pack instructions until tender, for 6-8 mins. Drain them, then rinse in cold water and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the stock with the ginger in a large pan. Whisk in the miso paste and fish or soy sauce. Bring to the boil, then add the chilli, garlic and mushrooms and simmer for 3 mins.
3. Add the mangetout and then the meat. Simmer for 2 mins. Season to taste with more fish or soy sauce.
4. Divide the noodles between 3-4 warm bowls and spoon the hot broth over. Sprinkle over shredded spring onions, if using, and serve with lime wedges.

Top tips for making Japanese broth with udon noodles

For a Thai version, use rice noodles instead of udon, swap the miso paste for Thai green paste, use fish or chicken stock cubes and top with prawns instead of steak.

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