Hot Soba Soup with Soft Boiled Egg
Yield: 2-3 servings
Time: 30 minutes
Soba is a thin buckwheat noodle used in both cold and hot dishes in Japan. It’s got a satisfying texture with a slightly earthy and nutty flavor and is used in a variety of ways in Japanese cuisine. In this recipe, we serve it hot with an easy-to-make dashi soup base topped with a soft boiled egg, giving it extra richness.
Around the world and throughout history, soup has been a humble way for cultures to survive. Even a quick look at cuisines globally reveal soup’s ubiquity; and although they’ve often been functional, failsafe form of sustenance, that hardly means they’re boring. In a simple bowl of soup, we see culture come alive, brimming with local ingredients. It’s a full creative expression of the people who invented each and every one.
Ingredients
- 1 3-inch piece of ginger, sliced
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- ½ sheet of kombu (8-inch by 4-inch piece)
- 2 cups of bonito flakes
- 3 tbsp. of soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. of mirin
- 3-4 baby bok choy, cut into quarters lengthwise
- 2-3 eggs (one per person)
- Sesame seeds, toasted
To Serve:
- Scallions, thinly sliced
- Toasted sesame seeds
Method
- Combine 6 cups of water, ginger, scallions and kombu in a pot; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Right when the broth comes to a boil, remove the kombu and lower heat to medium and add bonito flakes. Bring back up to a boil, then turn off heat and let steep for 15 minutes.
- While dashi steeps, bring a separate pot of water to a boil, add whole eggs (one per person), and cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and run under cold water. Peel, cut eggs in half, and set aside.
- In the same pot, bring water to a boil and cook dried soba noodles according to the instructions on the package. Remove from heat, rinse under cold water, and set aside.
- Once ready, strain dashi with cheesecloth or strainer into a large bowl. Once strained, put dashi back into the pot over medium heat, add bok choy and enoki mushrooms and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until done.
- To serve, put soba, bok choy and enoki mushrooms into bowls. Pour broth into the bowls and top with sesame seeds, sliced scallions, and halved eggs.
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