Saturday, January 9, 2010

Spinach & Shrimp Udon Soup



Udon soup is on the menu for lunch today. I've posted the chicken version of this soup before, but something prevented me from actually posting the recipe that evening (probably just too lazy).

So, this is a dashi based broth, with fresh baby spinach, shrimp, poached egg, and spring onion. Cooked chicken works equally well in the place of shrimp.

Not so Humble Spinach & Shrimp Udon Soup:
Serves 4
3/4 lb large shrimp, cooked, shelled and tails removed
1 1/2 lbs fresh thick udon noodles
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon granulated dashi
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
green onion
cayenne pepper

4 eggs
1 teaspoon rice vinegar

In a saucepan with several cups of water and a teaspoon of rice vinegar, poach 4 eggs for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. Remove the eggs from the hot water, place in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from cooking further and set aside. Meanwhile, heat 5 cups of water over medium heat and add the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, vinegar, mirin and granulated dashi. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low.

In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook the udon for 3 minutes and divide into 4 bowls bowls. Refill the pan with more hot water and bring to a boil. Add the spinach and cook for 20 seconds until bright green and slightly wilted. Remove from heat and squeeze the excess water from the spinach. Divide the spinach between the bowls and top each with a poached egg.

Add the cooked shrimp to the simmering broth and poach briefly, just long enough to heat them through (about 20 seconds) and then ladle the shrimp and the broth into the bowls. If using raw shrimp, add them to the simmering broth and cover. Within about 3-5 minutes the shrimp should be opaque, bright pink and cooked through.



Top the bowls with a little chopped green onion, sprinkle the egg with a little cayenne pepper and serve.

14 comments:

  1. *schlurp*!! I love everything about this. And the egg...heaven! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. omg that looks beautiful!!! i must make this!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh can I fly over for lunch? lol This post just made me really hungry, and esp. hungry for some Japanese cuisine, which is my favorite! I especially like it that you're udon is made with shrimp and baby spinach. I think baby spinach works better with tender shrimp meat since it has a softer taste, if that makes sense?

    ReplyDelete
  4. p.s. Btw, as some sort of a suggestion for future baking, wouldn't you be interested in making of and posting about French macarons cookies? I see a lot of food bloggers struggling with those and would love to see your take on them in the sientific way, that would be cool :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I guess I would love it!
    It looks delicious and that's the kind of meal I normally have in a japanese restaurant :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mmmm...my freezing feet think that soup looks lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yum! I've been craving udon and your recipe looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  8. French macarons!

    Oh course I'll be making them (possibly this month if time permits). I've been dreaming up flavors for months now and I've been wanting to test out a few new ideas.

    French macarons are just gorgeous fodder for blogs, all those pretty colors! I go into a trance just looking at them.

    Now can I get the blasted cookie, with its little feet, shell and dome down to a science? Possible. I wonder where I can buy almond flour in bulk...

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love seeing all of the beautiful pictures of your creations and getting the recipes as well. I'm a new blogger, blurry picture taker and self taught "chef" and your admirable skills are providing me with endless inspiration. Your blog is quickly becoming my primary source of literature! Although it's doing nothing for my diet. :)

    Fondly,
    An appreciative foodie

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've never seen such a neat poached egg! Seriously, not even in restaurants. What's your secret?

    ReplyDelete
  11. A gentle vortex in the water (putting the egg in the center) and a little rice vinegar in the water helps the egg white set neatly.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The spinach have a lot of nutrition properties as not only provides energy and strength, plus they are light and don´t have a single gram of fat. So spinach can help us even to keep a good shape. And can help you even in your sexual performance for all vitamin that this plant contain. In some cases when you´ve tried everything,is better to buy viagra i have no complain about this product, just the opposite.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails