Udon Noodle Soup

Hi friends... It has been a long time since I updated the blog with any recipe. Sorry about that. From now on I will try to be regular. Since it is winter and all I want is a hot bowl of soup, I thought why not put up the recipe of this simple yet delicious soup. It if filling but not heavy. Good for dinner or lunch, just add some tofu to it and it is a complete meal. This soup calls for some sea weed and miso. Miso is fermented barley paste. You can get miso from your local Asian stores or whole foods market. There a a few different kinds of miso, but if you haven't tried it please get the white miso, it is very soft in taste, other types may get a bit over whelming. Sea weed can be omitted from the recipe, but this makes the soup a lot flavourful, try using it if you haven't tried it yet.  I have not used udon noodles in this soup [the picture], I ran out of them and had to have this soup, so managed with what i could get from the store near by. If you do not get udon noodles, you can use any thick noodle for this soup. Enough of me yappi'n...So here goes the recipe.

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

1. Udon noodles - 1 bundle, cooked as per the instructions on the bag.
2. spring onions - 1 bunch, finely chopped
3. carrots - 1, peeled and finely chopped
4. Garlic - 3 pods well minced
5. Bell peppers - 1/2 a cup of any or all colours mixed, finely chopped 
6. Sea weed - 1 sheet
7. Miso - 2 to 3 tsp
8. Tofu - 1/2 cup cubes [optional]
9. Oil - 2 tsp
10. White or Rice vinegar - 2 to 3 tsp
11. Soy Sauce - 3 tsp
12. Salt and pepper - to taste
13. Water - enough to make a thin borth of all the ingredients and boil noodles

Method:

• Put the noodles to cook as per instructions on the bag it came in. Make sure to add adequate salt to the water to slat the noodles.
• Heat oil in a pot which can fit in all the ingredients.
• Add garlic, carrots, spring onions, bell peppers one after the other sauteing each for a few seconds till the sweat.
• Add a pinch of salt to let them cook faster.
• Add enough water to make a broth it has to be watery. Let the water come to a boil.
• Now add vinegar and soy sauce and let it cook for a few minutes.
• Now mix miso with a bit of water to make the paste easily soluble in the broth so that it does not form lumps. Make sure you do not make it very watery. Add miso to the broth and let it cook for a few seconds.
• Now tear the sea weed sheet into a few pieces and add to the soup. stir well.
• Add the cooked and drained noodles to the broth stir ... turn the stove off. Taste it if you need salt and pepper.. if you do, this is the time to add it. Miso and soy sauce are pretty salty, you have to be careful with salt when you use both of these ingredients together. let it sit for a few minutes and serve.

Lemon Coriander Soup

I am sure you all must have tasted this delicious soup in some Indo-Chinese restaurants. It is a very simple soup to make it will get ready in about 20 minutes. Add some quinoa/barley into the soup it will become a one pot meal. I tasted this for the first time when our friends Venu and Usha took us to a restaurant near their house. So, without further adieu, i give you the recipe for this light yet satisfying soup.

Perp time: 15 Minutes

Cook time: upto 20 minutes

Serving: upto 3

Ingredients:

1. Lemon Juice - 1/4 cup
2. Coriander - a handful, not too much though.
3. Green chili - 2 to 3 (more if you like it  very hot)
4. Vinegar - upto 3 tsp
5. Garlic - 4 pods grated/minced or upto 3 tsp paste
6. Water - upto 6 cups
7. Tofu - 1 cup diced (optional)
8. Mushroom - 1/2 cup finely chopped
9. Spring onions - 1 bunch, finely chopped
10. quinoa/barley - 1/4 cup (optional) [if you choose to use barley, soak it for 4 hours prior to use]
11. Corn Starch - 2 tsp (use only if not using quinoa or barley)
12. Salt - to taste
13. Oil - 2 tsp

Method:

• Heat oil in a pot which can hold all the ingredients.
• Saute garlic and spring onions for a minute.
• Add Mushroom and saute for a minute.
• Add water and 2 tsp vinegar and add quinoa or barley if you are using them and let it boil. 
• In the mean while, take the coriander, green chili, 1 tsp vinegar and two pinches of salt and make a paste of it.
• Add tofu and the paste to the soup and stir to mix well.
• Now add the paste, salt and boil for 5 minutes.
• If you are not using quinoa or barley, mix the corn starch in cold water and mix it in the soup while adding water in the beginning. 
• Add half of the lemon juice, stir and give it a taste, if it is not sour enough, add more till you get your desired taste. Add salt mix and enjoy this soup hot.

Tip:

If you do not eat green chili, you can eliminate it and use pepper powder instead. just add some cracked pepper in to the soup after it cooks and stir well.