How to re-create this recipe:
Ingredients:
Serves 8
- 2- 4 inch dried Kombu sheets
- 8 cups of water
- 3 baby bok choy
- 6 shitake mushrooms
- 2 Ounces of whole wheat Mai Fun noodles
- 1 tsp of ground ginger
- 2-3 tsp’s of fine himalayan pink salt (to taste)
- 2 tsp’s of trader joe’s “mushroom & company multipurpose umami seasoning blend” (optional)
Putting it together:
- Bring 8 cups of water to a simmer in a medium soup pot.
- Using a moist paper towel you can wipe off the Kombu sheets to clean them but it is highly recommended to leave the white powdery substance on them for extra umami flavor.
- When the water starts to simmer, add your Kombu and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Rinse off your bok choy and mushrooms. Slice the vegetables into strips. If your mushroom stems are not too gritty you can just slice them into little pieces and use them too (I highly recommend this as they too have umami flavor).
- While you are slicing your vegetables, place your noodles in a deep dish and pour boiling water over them till they are fully covered. Let them soak for 6 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, take out your kombu using a set of tongs (carefully holding them over the pot to drain and set aside). Add your ginger, pink salt, and umami seasoning blend and with a whisk, whisk all the spices into the broth until well dissolved.
- Add your mushrooms and bok choy and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the veggies are tender. Then add your Mai Fun noodles and cook for another 2 minutes. Enjoy!
Nourishment for your body: The Japanese consider this broth a soup stock and the base for creating many other authentic dishes. There are other variations you can make. Many people familiar with making this may add dried bonito flakes to deepen the flavor or dried anchovies and/or sardines. The white powder on the surface of Kombu seaweed is called Mannitol (it is an umami substance). They are nutrients derived from Kombu and have no harm to the body and quality of product. Kombu is high in iodine and iron, calcium and vitamins A and C. You can get more info about it in this great article published by the Washington Post; https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/kombu-a-nutritional-powerhouse-from-the-sea/2013/01/29/aa4bb830-4ad4-11e2-a6a6-aabac85e8036_story.html
Tips when cooking: To extract extra flavor from the Kombu you can make several slits in it using a knife prior to immersing it in the water. You can also make the Kombu by placing 2 sheets in a large bottle and steep it between 3-6 hours. The leftover kombu can be repurposed into another recipe. I love eating it cold and marinating it for salads. Maifun noodles are almost identical to Vermicelli noodles. The Trader Joe’s “Mushroom & Company multipurpose umami seasoning blend” is one I recommend to have in your pantry. It has a mixture of ground mustard, onions, porcini and button mushroom powders , red pepper flakes , black pepper and dried thyme.
