menu:
udon noodles with chicken & tofu, spinach egg omelet, tomato & cucumber salad
organic grape jelly (bought at a shop) & fresh strawberries for dessert
today, LO is back at daycare after staying home for a week because of a flu. we say that udon (japanese noodles made of wheat flour) soup noodles are good for digestion and often eat them while being ill. i remember my mum’s udon – simple but tasty and gentle for your stomach… my comfort food. i just cannot bring myself to feeding my little one a cracker with a slice of cheese when she is ill, while it is what my husband (he’s dutch) craves when he doesn’t feel well. cheese is one of the last things to come to my mind… but i know this goes way back to your childhood and is deeply rooted to your senses… it’s funny how cultural differences can be discovered so randomly in situations like this. i wonder how our LO’s tasting pallet develops as exposed as she is to such versatile choices of food.
udon soup noodles (serving for 4)
ingredients:
– 400g udon noodles (store bought)
– 800cc – 1,000cc japanese fish broth
– 1 small (or 100g) carrot (thinly sliced, roughly into 1cm x 3cm rectangular slices)
– 100g daikon, japanese radish (thinly sliced, roughly into 1cm x 3cm rectangular slices)
– 15cm japanese negi/ spring onion, roughly sliced
– 100g chicken thigh (cut into small bite pieces)
– 1/4 of fresh tofu, diced
– 2 table spoons of japanese sake (can be omitted)
– 1 tea spoon of salt
– 2 – 3 table spoons of say sauce (start with 1, and add to your liking)
– 1 – 2 table spoons of japanese mirin (alternatively, just a pinch of sugar)
– for garnish & extra colour, chopped japanese mitsuba leaves or cooked spinach or thinly sliced leek
directions:
1. in a medium sized pan, pour the broth and put carrots, daikon & leek slices and bring them to boil.
2. lower the heat but keep it boiling, and gently remove any residue coming up to the surface
2. add chicken and boil for another 5 minutes or so. make sure to remove residue
3. once carrots & daikon are soft, add sake, salt, say sauce and mirin to taste. make sure that soup tastes to your liking here
4. add udon, brings the soup to gentle boil, lower the heat and cook for another 3 – 5 minutes or so (depending on the thickness of the udon)
5. add tofu at the very end, stir gently so that tofu gets warm
6. place the soup and noodles in a deep bowl, place the garnish at the center
SMALL TOKYO KITCHEN 