Miso Noodles – Easy Way To Eat Japanese

Miso Noodles Print this page

by Azélia on 15/01/2010

in Fish,Mains,Soup

It seems the snow is finally thawing and you can feel a sigh of relief from people as I do my weekly shop.  Here I am, halfway through the month, supposedly the worst and most depressing month in our calendar. Lack of sunlight and by now we’re fed up with the cold, feeling poorer having just gone through Christmas and warmer days and outdoor living seems so far away.  In the summer it’s easy, I appear to survive on lots of salads and fruit, some protein, and lots of water.   I’m not in the summer.  I feel cold still in the middle of winter and I’m in need of nourishment in a comforting form.   If  like me you have a terrible habit of hot beverages through the cold months, cups of coffees and teas that inevitably lead to a piece of cake or biscuits or comforting crusty bread.   Warm fresh bread, mmmmm, bread to me is like beer to Homer Simpson.  The extra pounds I’m now carrying, need to be shed ready for the summer wardrobe, ’cause I won’t be able to hide inside big jumpers. If I had to pick one diet to solely live on it would be Japanese, through the winter or summer.  I would not only loose the extra stone but I would feel healthy, balanced,  maybe virtuous even, ok, that would be pushing it but my body would certainly feel the virtues.

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This little jar above is my best friend, well as much as an inanimate object can be friends but if I don’t have a jar of rice miso in my cupboards during the winter months I might as well not have onions.  It’s a diet staple with the kids and this little jar has saved my behind many a times when I’ve come to 5 o’clock and realised I haven’t thought about dinner.  What I like about it is you don’t need anything else for the base of your stock, this jar is a miracle as far as I’m concerned it turns water into wine, yes, a miracle, my catholic upbringing is coming out now but what I’m trying to say it’s so so flavoursome you don’t need anything else.  I can’t believe that fermented rice can produce a deep earthy stock, the Japanese are miracle workers,  I’ve mentioned in the Post Christmas post referring to Dashi & Umami book that I love everything Japanese.  But even if you don’t love everything Japanese, you should have a jar of this in your condiment cupboard because it will save your behind one day.

I buy mine in the special selection in Sainsbury but it’s readily available in health food shops.  Miso comes in different varieties, yellow miso which is sweeter, red miso, or miso made out of barley (never tried that one) but the one above is brown miso, sticky thick paste smells yeasty and strong from the jar but that’s not how it tastes.

If you’ve had miso soup at the beginning of a Japanese meal the taste won’t be a complete surprise but these soups are lighter, usually mixed with a dashi stock, made from scratch or from packets.  Dashi stocks will vary from vegetarian ones made with kombu seaweed and shiitaki mushrooms or ones with bonito flakes (dried fish flakes) or niboshi ( small dried fish).  These dashi stocks are important and the basis of many Japanese dishes.  And if you want to be making true Japanese simmered noodles dishes then this is how you should start but that’s for another post.  This post is about grabbing a jar from your cupboard and making a meal in the time it takes to cook the vegetables to your liking.  This is not a genuine Japanese recipe but one made by someone who wants to feed the family something nutritious but has no time.  The rice miso is made with fermented rice and salt, so you can make it  vegan, vegetarian or top it with favourite meat or fish.

Below is a lot of details and might give the impression this dish takes long to put together but if I put it in a simple form you’ll see how fast it is, quicker than waiting for pizza delivery.  Goes like this:  Bring water with your favourite stock to boil in large pan.  Add your vegetables when ready add your miso paste, stir in, bring broth to just under simmer.  It’s ready.  Now add noodles and meat.  Eat.

I like food detail, No, I love food detail, and I have now bored everyone around me, I can see it, their eyes glaze over, it’s why I started this blog, I’ve run out of people to bore my food details to.  So just ignore me and nod,  pretend you’re listening.

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Topped with poached chicken

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In this bowl I used 100% buckwheat noodles.

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The variety of Japanese noodles available now is far better even in a supermarket, all of these I could buy them in my local Waitrose, you have starting on the left with 100% buckwheat soba; buckwheat & wheat soba; wheat & egg ramen; wheat udon; wheat & brown rice udon.  They all vary in texture from one another and there’s choice for those avoiding wheat or egg in their diet.

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100% buckwheat soba on the left; wheat & buckwheat soba on the right

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Buckwheat noodles have a very different texture and taste to the wheat ones it’s a rougher texture and for those use to the taste of wheat will perhaps find them a bit chewy.  These ones are thicker than ones I normally tend to buy from  Japanese supermarket or  health food shops which I prefer.  If you can eat wheat, try the noodles that are a mixture of wheat & buckwheat, they have a nuttier flavour than 100% wheat ones but are not as chewy as 100% buckwheat.

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Within the wheat varieties there is a choice of thickness and textures, some with egg, some with rice, great if like me you have to avoid certain ingredients.

If you can’t find Japanese noodles simply use your normal chinese noodles it doesn’t matter, the idea it to use what you like or have access to.

Notes To Make The Miso Stock
You can make stock with just miso or can mix it with vegetable or chicken stock, if homemade great otherwise cupboard stock will do afterall it’s all about convenience.  It will make the broth taste more robust and have a fuller taste.  If you’re not adding stock add more miso, it will make the broth taste stronger of miso.  If trying miso for the first time I would recommend to go for the lighter option, miso and stock.

To Boil or Not Boil Your Miso
It says in my miso jar not to boil it once you’ve added the miso to the water to keep all the healthy properties of the miso but I must confess that I hadn’t read that notice until I was paying attention for posting on here.  It is one of my faults that Bikerboy will confirm, I don’t read instructions, and here I am giving out instructions, yes quite ironic.  This blog has now made me check instructions and confirm details so maybe it will change a habit of a lifetime.
I tried to be good and follow instruction not to let the miso paste boil.  I had the pan with chicken stock, added vegetables when cooked added miso ready for noodles and chicken.  But what happen was what usually happens, the 2 year old comes into the kitchen and hangs around my legs, older child comes in and talks about her day and without fail middle child comes and makes herself known, that’s what happens.  With the best intentions in the world I let my miso boil just like all the other times. I shan’t beat myself up because I have so many other faults to do that for me.  If like me you don’t feel you’re committing a terrible wrong by adding your miso at the beginning and letting it boil then go ahead it’s one less thing to pay attention to, as far as flavour goes it will not spoil it.

Further Flavours To Add To Miso Broth
Rice miso and stock is seriously good enough but if you wish to deepen the flavour the following work for me, mirin or chinese cooking wine, sake, a bit of grated ginger, a touch of soysauce.  Add these or other flavours a spoonful at a time until you have the desired taste.

Cooking Noodles
All the packets will tell how to cook the noodles you’ve bought. Very lazy way,  you can throw the noodles into the pan you’re making the miso, becoming one pot dish, I’ll do this when trying to get food on the table really fast but you’re in danger of over cooking the noodles.  Japanese noodles love to stick together and this method will make the broth very foamy while they’re cooking, it’s doable but not desirable or recommended if you love your noodles.
If cooking buckwheat noodles I would definitely cook them separately because they seem to be starchier than wheat ones the water will be very starchy making it difficult to keep the noodles separate, they can become a bit of a mess.  Not Japanese at all, where it’s all about cooking ingredients separate to retain their individual flavour.  Once noodles are cooked separately they can be re-heated by adding them for few seconds when the broth is ready  or simply put the individual amount of noodles in the bowl and add the boiling broth to it, will be sufficient to heat up the noodles.

The Japanese Way  Of  Cooking Noodles
My little trustee Japanese book “a taste of Japan” by Lesley Downer, now out of print will give you instructions as follows: bring a large pan of water to the boil, add the noodles, keep them moving to stop them from sticking, so far like I do my pasta but this is where it’s quite unusual; once the water comes back to the boil add a cupful of cold water to bring the temperature down this will stop the water boiling.  The reason for this is to bring the temperature on the outside of the noodle to the same temperature as it is on the inside,  enabling the noodle to cook evenly.  Once the water comes to the boil again add another cup of cold water and repeat a third time if necessary, the noodles should cook in 4-5 mins in total depending on the thickness.  Check just like pasta they are ‘al dente’, cooked all the way through but still firm.
Whichever method you use for cooking your noodles separately once they done it’s important to rinse them under cold water to bring down the temperature and stop them cooking further but more importantly to stop them from sticking by washing the starchiness on the surface of the noodle and helping keeping the strands separate.

The Instant Noodles
There are packets now of ready prepare noodles that can be added straight into a wok or in this case in hot broth, some of them acceptable quality, I found the range Amoy who make udon noodles or thinner ones.

What To Add To The Broth
This is about what you have to hand and what you fancy, on the photos below I only had mushrooms, carrots and cabbage.  Adding dried shiitake mushrooms will be very authentic and you’ll also be introducing umami flavour to your stock, and very good for you, a note of caution unless you’re good with chewy mushrooms, chopped them up very small.
I’ll often poach chicken fillets in the stock before I add the vegetables it will flavour the chicken and save time.  Or use any leftover meat. I like salmon fillets marinated in mirin, soysauce, grated ginger and lime, grilled and serve them on top of the noodles.  On the first photo I had marinated chicken pieces in the same mixture (mirin 2:1 soysauce, 1 tsp of grated ginger) and grill or stir-fry them.
A nice idea is to have little bowls of toppings like chopped favourite herbs, spring onions, chillies for people to help themselves at the table.  If you really want to go all out with the toppings you can deep fry very thin strands of fresh root ginger too to add texture and different dimension.

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Miso Noodles

Brown rice miso paste – start with 2 tablespoons
1.5 litres / 3 pints of chicken or vegetable stock
Vegetables of your choice, sliced
Noodles of your choice, cooked  (see above notes)
Meat or vegetarian protein cooked (see above notes)

In a large pan bring the stock to the boil, add the vegetables and cooked them to your liking, add the miso stir it in well and bring the broth just to under simmering point, make sure the miso is fully mixed into the liquid, taste for seasoning and adjust.  Ready to pour over your noodles and serve with your meat.

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