Japanese Inspired Noodle Soup
A salve for the worst kind of hangover.
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Now to the words… “hangover?” i hear you muse. Well let me explain.
I have a hangover. Not the one that immediately jumps to mind, hands clutching a pounding head, sunglasses protecting bleary eyes from overly bright lights that others perceive as being of a perfectly normal luminance all while ravenously inhaling salty snacks and sweet drinks…or so I’ve heard 😉. Feet still sore from hours of dancing, giggling with pals while reminiscing about the previous night’s shenanigans while inwardly cringing, thankfully not the feature of this particular hangover because let’s face it, though I’m loathe to admit it, I’m too old for that nonsense and so is my middle aged body.
I am, however, suffering a severe case of holiday hangover. Possibly worse than the traditional style of garden variety hangover, a holiday hangover is a protracted condition that lingers and lurks in the shadows and corners of your days. It distracts you from your normal routine, makes normally mildly irritating things seem a thousand times worse and it lacks any sort of real expedient cure. It’s really only dealt with over time and immersion in one’s normal routine of the daily mundanity of life, a somewhat bitter pill really.
It's easy to romanticise the destinations we visit, convincing ourselves that we could live there. Scenery unfamiliar to our normal landscapes captivates us and makes us imagine ourselves in the scenery in perpetuity. Who hasn’t walked on a tropical beach picturing themselves starting each day that way discarding thoughts of life’s realities such as hanging out washing and cleaning houses in such hot conditions. Or perhaps bustled through exciting cities carried along with the local crowd while they pursued their normal day imagining ourselves in some exciting city lifestyle sipping coffee in sidewalk café’s while people watching, again those locals whose lives we’re immersing ourselves in aren’t enjoying the life we imagine. But none of these reality checks are the salve are they.
Rationally we know all that. We know all the realities of everyday, mundane, foot in front of foot life, but travel awakens something. It shakes our curiosity and reminds of all that lies beyond our own horizons. The different ways of life offering life lessons on other ways to live shakes us out of our own habits if even only briefly enlightening us to new philosophies and lifestyles which, if we’re lucky, can ignite us to spread our own thoughts and wings. Travel sets a fire under us doesn’t it? Not only does it ignite our lifestyle thinking and curiosity it can ignite our tastebuds.
And ignite it did on our recent trip to Japan. Gosh I’ve been dying to unpack that trip with you and share all our adventures but as you’ve read the last couple weeks we came home to a busy emotional time. That holiday felt, and still feels, like it happened to someone else some days. We landed to wintry blasts of wind and rain blowing a sharp reminder over us that we were definitely not in warm buzzing Japan anymore. All the refined precise organisation of Japan was left behind and it’s elegance and beauty in our memories. But the flavours…that was lingers and thankfully is accessible. I returned with a few delicious condiments and lots of inspiration and dishes I’m desperate to recreate. My knowledge of Japanese cuisine is but a fine scratch on the surface of a perfectly polished Japanese kitchen bench. A whisper of understanding, one that you crane to hear better desperate to understand properly and fully understand. First stop on my return was a local international supermarket to stock up on ingredients that now make more sense. Next was my incessant reading of a very small collection of Japanese cookbooks and the borrowing of more from the library. And finally has been experimentation, on a cuisine fatigued husband who needed ‘a break from rice.’ 😂
Like salty snacks, sugary drinks and caffeine for regular hangovers, the cuisine of destinations left behind yet yearned for is the best kind of holiday hangover cure. I’ve been sprinkling Kyoto Furikake on my avo toast, popping mochi at Japanese snack bars and practicing my Tamagoyaki technique with my new Japanese omelette pan. My understanding of the cuisine, its ingredients and their nuances is still rudimentary at best, it is growing with my confidence to experiment with it. As another cold front swept across Melbourne this week I sought a bowl of warming soup to thaw out. I considered how I could make something inspired by my burgeoning knowledge and that would transport me back to the bustling yet serene streets of Japan, a strange but elegant paradox.
Slurpy noodles and delicately seasoned umami broth is perfect for all the yearning. Where to venture next?
Japanese Inspired Noodle Soup
Ingredients:
1 Tb neutral flavoured oil, I’ve used rice bran
1 tsp sesame oil
10 gm ginger peeled and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove peeled and grated or crushed
3 spring onions/scallions thinly sliced, separate green from white portions
1 Tb white miso past
2 tsps soy sauce
500ml good quality liquid chicken stock. Store bought or homemade is fine.
500ml water
1 corn cob, kernels sliced, cob reserved. This equals around 2/3 c kernels
2/3 c frozen edamame
100 gm dried soba or udon noodles
120 gm roughly chopped cabbage
2 medium sized mushrooms thinly sliced, I’ve used swiss browns\
white pepper to taste
1 egg person
Method:
In a small pot add your whole egg and cover with cold water. Set over high heat and bring to boil, cooking for 4-5 minutes. Remove from hot water and plunge into cold water to help egg pull away from shell and make it easier to peel.
While eggs are cooking…
Heat oils in a medium to large heavy based pot over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and add ginger, garlic and white spring onion slices. Gently cook until fragrant, stir in miso paste and stir until softened and breaking up. Add reserved corn cob, stock, water and soy sauce. Increase heat and bring to boil. Add noodles and stir to separate, add corn kernels and edamame, lower heat to medium with stock bubbling gently for seven minutes. Add cabbage and mushrooms, cook two minutes. Check noodles are cooked but still slightly firm in the centre and adjust seasoning to taste being generous with the white pepper. Serve in deep bowls with reserved green spring onion slices and roasted sesame seeds sprinkle on top. Float your cooked egg on top.
Like I have, you might like to add some tofu with yours, silken or firm both work. Some leftover shredded chicken would also be delicious.
Reading: Tilly Pamment’s glorious new book Handfuls of Sunshine. If the name doesn’t make you want to buy it, the contents will. A delicious collection of bakes for small treats both simple everyday bakes and refined ones for something special. The imagery is stunning and flavour combos unique and flavourful. I’ll keep you posted once I start baking.
Eating: Here! A bakery with a small, curated wine list and most excellent food to drive for, in the misty hills 40 minutes from Melbourne….what’s not to love in winter.
Listening: to Alex Warren. One of The Mr’s finds, great music to listen to while driving to afore mentioned hills, bakery and booze lunch or while baking something delicious from Tilly’s new book…or frankly any time.
Happy slurping if you make yourself a big bowl of noodles to soothe your wanderlust.
Enjoy the rest of you week friends,
S x