Every time we went to our favorite sushi restaurant in California, I would always place the same order. I missed the dish so much when I moved to the continent that I came up with a simpler version of the dish. Nearly as good as Takara’s Charlie Special, but not quite.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 50 mins |
| Servings: | 2 |
| Yield: | 2 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 ounce kombu (Japanese dried kelp)
- 5 cups cold water
- ¾ cup bonito flakes
- 2 ounces aburaage (frozen, defrosted fried tofu cakes)
- 2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce, divided
- 2 tablespoons mirin, divided
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound frozen udon noodles
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
Instructions
- Break kombu into 2-inch pieces; this should equal about 2 cups, loosely packed. Bring water and kombu to a gentle boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, then remove and discard kombu. Sprinkle in bonito flakes and bring to a simmer over medium heat, about 2 minutes. Once simmering, remove from heat, strain, and discard solids. Place dashi back into the saucepan and set aside.
- Place aburaage in a medium bowl. Cover with hot water and let soak until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Strain, allow to cool briefly until cool enough to handle, and gently press aburaage with your hands to squeeze out any excess water.
- Bring 1 cup dashi, 1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon mirin, and sugar to a boil in another medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer over medium-low heat and add the soaked aburaage. Cook, covered, until the majority of the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Flip aburaage halfway through.
- Bring the remaining 4 cups of dashi to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir in salt, remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and remaining 1 tablespoon mirin. Add frozen udon noodles; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until noodles have separated and are tender yet firm to the bite, about 2 minutes.
- Divide noodles and broth evenly into 2 bowls. Top with seasoned aburaage and sliced scallions.
- Aburaage is deep-fried tofu pouches made from soybeans. The cooking process it goes through in this recipe turned it into inariage. You can use 2 ounces of fried bean curd instead.
- Traditional dashi is made with kombu and bonito flakes. It can also be made with dashi tea packets steeped in hot water.