recipe: chikara udon soup

Kirimochi, an ingredient I had not heard of, and the quick prep time drew me to make this udon soup from the cookbook, Mochitsuki. Kirimochi is typically made from a short grain white rice. However, the only kirimochi I could find when looking in stores in my area or online was this Eden Foods sweet brown rice mochi from Azure. Despite it being brown instead of white rice, it turned out to be a great find! I tested it out in both a toaster oven and frying it in a pan. Both turned out similar - crispy on one side, but not so much on the other. The advantage of the toaster oven was that it didn't require any oil. I do need to practice/experiment a little more to get it crispy on both sides. Yet my initial attempts still gave me a proper chance to see what it tastes like - crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle. It's a bit of a strange texture, but not at all a bad necessarily - It adds an interesting element to a brothy soup. The udon noodles I used were ones I had on hand from a prior Vitacost order. Azure also carries them. The cookbook author, Kristen Morita, says that "some expert home cooks make their own broth from scratch, it's very common to use a store-bought soup base called mentsuyu." I could not find anything of this name, however did find Mizkan udon and soba broth concentrate, which seems to be the same/similar. The bottle says how much concentrate to add to water (just check the expiration and don't get one that is almost four months past like mine haha). So, with just these few simple ingredients (and a bit of green onion sprinkled on top) I had a warming flavorful soup in a very short amount of time! I'll definitely be keeping these ingredients on hand to throw them together in this way, or with other ingredients, to make varying easy soups.

Chikara Udon

Serves: 1

Prep time: 10 minutes, Cook time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:

1 to 2 pieces kirimochi or refrigerated fresh Mochi

1 package frozen udon noodles (or packaged shelf stable noodles like I got)

3 tbsp mentsuyu (I bought something called a udon and soda broth concentrate)

1 to 1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tbsp chopped green onions (optional)

2 to 3 slices kamaboko (optional)

Instructions:

Line a toaster oven tray with aluminum foil and set the toaster oven rack to the lowest position available. If using a traditional oven, line a small baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a rack in the highest position. 

Put the kirimochi on the tray and broil on high for 6 to 8 minutes, or until puffed and lightly brown on the edges.

While the mochi is toasting, bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the frozen udon noodled and cook according to the package instructions, usually about 2 minutes (my cook time was more aligned with typical pasta).

Drain the noodles and put in a serving bowl. Add the mentsuyu and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of warm water to dilute the mentsuyu into a broth, according to your preference. Top with the toasted mochi, along with the green onion and kamaboko (if using), or other toppings of choice. Serve immediately.

Notes:

I didn't get much of a noticeable browning (or even cooking) of the kirimochi in 8 minutes, so I moved the toaster over tray to the top rack and then saw some movement. But, it did take a decent amount of time.