The Foxiest Noodle Soup That Will Tempt You To Get Seconds — Kitsune Udon

One thing about Asian Americans is we always have some sort of dried noodle and soup base in the pantry. We wanted to make something that is very easy, uses pantry items we already had, and has a broth that warms the soul. Kitsune udon is a classic Japanese soup featuring udon with fried tofu skin and dashi broth. Based on Japanese folklore, the mythical fox loves aburaage – the signature topping for this type of udon.

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Servings: 2

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

• 4 cups dashi
• 4 cups water
• 1 package dried or fresh udon
• 1 cup beach mushrooms
• 4 baby bok choy
• 1 can inariage (deep fried tofu skins in sweet marinade)
• 1 narutomaki (fish cake)
• itokiri togarashi (shredded chili pepper)
• 1/2 bunch green onion

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Recipe:
1. Combine 4 cups dashi with 4 cups water in a pot. Bring to low simmer.

2. Boil udon according to package instructions. When noodles are done remove from pot and dunk in cold water for 20 seconds. Set aside in a bowl with a little cold water to keep it from drying out.

3. Steam the bok choy and mushrooms. Put them in a steamer basket then place in a pot with about 2 inches of boiling water. Cover with a lid and steam for 5 min.

4.  Taste the dashi broth. Add more water or dashi to taste if needed, aiming for a slightly salty umami flavor.

5. Place the udon in your serving bowl, ladel the broth over the noodles, then top with veggies, inariage, narutomaki, itokiri togarashi, and chopped green onion.

6. Enjoy!

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Notes:

• The dashi I used was very concentrated so I had to add lots of water. The problem I came across was that the bottle was in Japanese (I couldn’t read the instructions) so I literally had to dilute and taste until I felt it was right. It’s always a good rule of thumb to taste your broth periodically while cooking!
• Dashi is a broth made from kelp and bonito. It can be made at home but we like to buy it at the Asian market for money and time efficiency. You can buy it as a powder or as liquid concentrate. In this recipe we used concentrate.
• What’s the difference between aburaage (abura- age) and inariage (inari-age)? Aburaage is deep fried tofu skin. Inariage is aburaage in a sweet marinade. You may recognize inariage being used for inari (short for inarizushi) in sushi restaurants, the deep fried tofu pillows stuffed with rice.