Every so often I get an urge to jump in and play some Katamari. It is fun to just turn my brain off and roll a ball of doom around while collecting everything in its path. The last level I spent a bit playing to get inspiration for the site was the sumo level in Katamari Forever. The goal of the level is to make your sumo eat enough calories in order to knock the current sumo champion out of the ring. As you roll around, the world is just covered in many delicious treats. Now that I think of it I tend to go back to the food heavy levels pretty often when I play Katamari – no wonder I started this blog!
As the temperature drops, my need to eat soup increases. As winter progresses I’ll be posting a few soup recipes but my new current favorite is kitsune udon. This week’s recipe is a pretty quick one to put together but a lot of the ingredients are going to require a special trip to your local Japanese market. When I have the needed ingredients for this recipe I really enjoy making this one because of how quick it is to make and how full I feel after eating it. The longest part of the recipe is making the dashi stock but this could be done beforehand and simply warmed up when you want to make a bowl of kitsune udon.
Ingredients:
Dashi Stock (makes for 2 large bowls)
3 cups water
1 konbu (a type of seaweed)
4 tbsp bonito flakes
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp mirin
Ingredient per bowl
1 pack of frozen udon
4 pieces aburaage (thinly sliced tofu that has been deep fried and flavored)
kamaboko slices (a Japanese fish cake)
scallions
Begin by making the dashi stock. In a large pot combine the water, konbu and bonito flakes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for at least 15 minutes. The longer you let the stock cook the stronger the dashi will be. Strain any foam that forms during this process. When the broth is ready, place a mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the broth. Return the broth to the pot over low-medium heat.
If you are making this earlier simple let the dashi cool, seal in a bowl and place in the refrigerator. The dashi should hold for up to five days.
At this point cook your udon noodles according to the package. Cut up the kamaboko to ¼ inch thick slices. In your serving bowl, place the cooked udon and top with the aburaage and kamaboko. In the pot with the dashi stock, add the soy sauce and mirin. Pour the stock into the bowl, top with some scallions and serve.
