Kake Udon - Basic Japanese Udon Noodle Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

6 ounces udon noodles (or 2 servings)
1 1/2 cups dashi (Japanese fish stock)
2 tablespoons mirin, plus
1 teaspoon mirin
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
green onion, chopped
Optional toppings
fish cake, sliced (kamaboko)
toasted sesame seeds
tempura scraps (tenkasu)
shichimi togarashi (Japanese 7-spice pepper)

Preparation

Heat a large pot of water for cooking the udon noodles.
Meanwhile, bring dashi to a simmer. Add mirin, soy sauce and salt (optional). Continue simmering until ready to use.
Cook the udon noodles according to the package instructions.
Divide drained, cooked udon into two large, deep serving bowls.
Top with grated ginger, chopped green onion, and fish cake slices (optional).
Pour in simmering broth to fill both bowls.
Top with optional toasted sesame seeds, shichimi togarashi, and/or tenkasu.
Drinking all the broth is not recommended. Additional noodles can be added to the remaining broth in the bowl as desired.