Soba Noodles with vegetables in Mellow Kuzu Sauce

This is a great recovery meal with healthy soba noodles and nourishing kuzu broth.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 400g Clearspring 100% Buckwheat Soba Noodles
• 80g carrot, cut into thin strips
• 2 leek, thinly sliced
• 200g age (deep fried tofu), wiped off any excess oil on the surface with paper towel, sliced into thin strips
• 12 lotus root slices (soaked in water for 2 hours)

Stock Soup

• 8 dried Clearspring Shiitake 20cmx5cm Clearspring Kombu
• 800ml cold water
• Soak the Clearspring Kombu and Clearspring Shiitake in water at least 30 minutes in a saucepan.

Seasonings

• 3 tbsp Clearspring Tamari Soya Sauce
• 2 tbsp Clearspring Mikawa Mirin or Clearspring Rice Mirin
• 1 tbsp sake
• 1/2 tsp Clearspring Traditional Sea Salt

To make ankake (thick sauce)

• 2 tbsp Clearspring Kuzu, dissolved in 2 tbsp cold water

Garnishing

• 2 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp Clearspring Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 4 mangetout, lightly boiled, sliced into a half

Method

1. To make the dashi, bring the kombu and shiitake in water to the boil, but take the kombu out just before boiling.
2. Simmer the shiitake for 10 minutes, then take them out. (skim a scum off if it is needed)
3. Add the seasonings (soy sauce, mirin, sake, salt) to the dashi, bring it to the boil.
4. Add the carrot, leek, age (deep fried tofu) and lotus root, then simmer with low heat until the carrot is cooked.
5. In the meantime, prepare the soba noodle by following an instructions on a package. *be careful that it will overflow when the soba noodles are cooking. Add water to the pan or reduce the heat if it  is required. Place the soba noodle on serving plates.
6. To make the ankake sauce, while the sauce is simmering with low heat, slowly pour the kuzu and water mixture into the pan (before you pour the mixture, give a stir to combine well). Stirring for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens.
7. Serve the ankake sauce on top of the soba noodle, then garnishing with ginger, give a drizzle of the sesame oil and sesame seeds to add an extra flavour.

Chef

Atsuko's Kitchen

After months of travelling and teaching Japanese cuisine around the world, Atsuko has settled in London to run an authentic Japanese home style cooking course, Atsuko's Kitchen.

Her recipes and techniques come from her mother and grandmother, who were both inspiring cooks and passed on their passion and knowledge to her.

Her sensei (teacher) Mari Fujii taught Atsuko Shojin-Ryori, a Japanese Buddhist temple cuisine using creative methods to make dishes using only vegetable ingredients.

After seeing the world and taking on the different food cultures she came accross, Atsuko has chosen London for teaching Japanese cuisine based on five fundamental traditional seasonings.

"My enthusiasm for food has been even more developed in London, where there are many chances to meet a variety of cultures and learn about their foods. In comparison, Japanese dishes are simple and tasty, yet have become very popular. You can make hundreds of everyday meals with just five basic seasonings: shoyu, mirin, sake, rice vinegar and miso. The only difference is in the technique used when making the dishes."

Miles away from Japan, Atsuko's ambition is to re-create with her students the life and tastes of her mother's kitchen in Kyushu.

As well as teaching, Atsuko also caters regularly for private parties and cafés using her unique style of Japanese cooking.

www.atsukoskitchen.com