Asian fusion; udon noodle soup with tofu and korean miso sautéed enoki mushroom

There are few things that taste as good as a nice hot and spicy noodle soup on a cold and rainy day. I've been making my version of this for years and it never turns out the same as the time before; sometimes frustrating, sometimes a source of new creative possibilities. I tried to make this one as basic as possible so that I would remember what I used. I'm calling it Asian Fusion since the noodles are Japanese, the Pak Soi and silk tofu originally Chinese and the miso paste I've used is Korean. If you have any, I think this soup would be great to top off with some kimchi; I'll come back to that in another post!

The What for the Soup

Udon noodles

Silk tofu

Mini Shanghai Pak Soi (or bok choi if you prefer)

chili

garlic

ginger

coriander roots (and leaves for garnish)

Korean Miso Paste

vegetable stoclk

lime juice

water

Coconut oil 

The What for the Miso Sautéed Enoki Mushroom Side

Enoki mushrooms

Sesame seeds

chili

garlic

ginger

Korean Miso Paste

tamari or soy sauce

Soup: The How

Finely chop garlic, ginger and chili and crush the coriander roots. Gently fry in coconut oil in a large pan. Add the Korean Miso Paste and stir. 

Pour in the water, bring to the boil and add the vegetable stock and the lime juice. Add more miso paste to bring up the taste if needed as well as some soy sauce if you want it more salty. 

Wash the pak soi and cut into quarters, add to the soup. 

Cut the silk tofu into cubes. 

Add the Udon noodles and let simmer for about 4-5 minutes until they start getting softer. 

Finally add the tofu, stir gently and let it get warm before serving. 

Serve in a deep bowl, top with coriander and freshly cut chili.

Enoki Mushroom Sauté: The How

Wash the mushrooms thoroughly.

Finely chop garlic, ginger and chili and gently fry in coconut oil in a frying pan along with the sesame seeds. Add the enoki mushrroms as well as the Korean Miso Paste and stir.

Season with tamari or soy sauce, be careful not to use too much as it is quite salty.

Serve the mushrooms warm or cold as a side or as a part of a buffet style meal.

You can vary this soup endlessly; make it your own and I promise it will be your go to meal on a cold and rainy night when you're longing for a beach and some sunshine!

Hungry? Here's a 10 minute meal that tastes amazing

I LOVE gnocchi. I love it so much that I even tried to make it myself (major fail, will tell you more about that another time). The good news for us that apparently aren't very gifted in the make-your-own gnocchi department, there are now hundreds of different types of fresh pasta available in almost all standard grocery stores. Hooray!!

I had a wonderful day off today, finally being able to spend some quality time on my blog and my glorious plans for the future. Glorious plans for the future made me hungry but it needed to be a quick meal so as not to disturb me too much when I finally got my creative juices flowing. 

This is what I had at home: 

1 packet of fresh gnocchi

1 can of crushed tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

fresh thyme

Chili flakes

Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

The How: 

Throw the gnocchi into boiling, lightly salted water. Cook until they start popping up to the surface of the water. Remove from water and put aside for now. 

Chop garlic, fry in olive oil in a pan together with chili flakes, until soft. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper and let simmer. 

Add the gnocchi and stir. 

Serve with fresh thyme and grated Parmesan. 

This is turned into a beautiful (super quick and not at all classic) Gnocchi Neapolitan in just under 10 minutes!

Now to get back to creating my Declarations of a Foodie empire!