. . . the empty fridge: noodle soup

The Empty Fridge is a monthly series where we challenge that formidable void and make the best of what's on hand.  Join us each month for a new installment, and feel free to share your empty fridge recipes in the comments for this post!

Up this month: Noodle Soup

I've been on a soup kick lately. You name the soup, and I've probably eaten it in the very recent past.  So this week, when my fridge was getting pretty sparse, I had soup on the brain. . .

. . . but all of my go-to recipes required ingredients I didn't have (or didn't have enough of). Then I saw the Udon noodles.

I've never made this sort of soup before, and frankly didn't have all of the ingredients to pull it off authentically, so a hybrid was born.  A little make-shift soup base (I didn't have miso, so I improvised one with some trumped up chicken broth). . .

. . . some rice wine pickled radishes (to sub in for the brightness of kimchi). . .

. . . and a few other goodies (the crispy shallots are a must!) it came together rather nicely. It's really a sort of Ramen/Udon mash up, but my tastebuds weren't concerned with labels, they just wanted another bowl.

Soup's up!

Make-Shift Udon/Ramen Mash Up

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 bundles dry Udon noodles (you could substitute another Asian noodle here if you don't have Udon)
• 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)
• 2 cups water (for a heavier base, you could use a full 6 cups of broth and forgo the water)
• 3-5 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil (plus a bit for drizzling on the soup at the end)
• 1 cup chopped greens (kale, chard, spinach. . . really whatever you have on hand)
• 1/2 block of firm tofu cut into 3/4" cubes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 piece of fresh ginger (about 2")
• 1-2 shallots
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup sliced radishes
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 eggs
• 1-2 green onions

Bring the vinegar to a boil. Remove from heat and add the radishes and the pepper flakes.  Pour into a jar and set aside to cool.

Place two eggs in a pot of cold water and bring them up to a boil.  Cover and let sit for 9 minutes before setting them aside in a cool water bath (you want them to be slightly under hard boiled)

While the eggs are cooking bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles for 3-4 minutes (you want them to have a bit of bite to them). Rinse in cold water and set aside.

In a pan, saute the shallots in the butter over medium-low heat until they are crispy.  Place on paper towels to drain.

Slice the garlic and the peeled ginger and saute in the olive oil for 1-2 minutes or until they become fragrant.  Add the broth, water, soy sauce and sesame oil to the pot and bring to a gentil simmer.  Add the tofu and the greens and cook until just tender.  Place a mound of noodles in each bowl and ladle the broth over the noodles.  Top with the pickled radishes, half of an egg, some crispy shallots and green onions. Drizzle with a bit of sesame oil and serve.

 

With the Kids: Invite the kids to pick out their favorite greens to add to the dish and to try their hands at preparing the ingredients with you. Ask them to give chop sticks a test run.  Make a game of it and attempt to pick up different household items with them and see who can hold on the longest or pick them up the fastest (cards, pennies, etc.) Use the opportunity to learn more about the geography of Japan.  Pull out a globe or some maps and go on an imaginary adventure. Take a peek at how Udon noodles are made ( standing on the dough!).

 

~ Sarah

*Last time in The Empty Fridge: Butternut Ravioli