Until I lived in Nagoya, I thought I only preferred less salty, lighter-colored misos, on the sweeter side. But the first time I had Misonikomi, another Nagoyan specialty, and tasted the deeply red and pungent hatcho (red) miso, my miso taste preferences widened and expanded. I loved making my kishimen noodle recipe from earlier this month, but this one might be even better!
While testing this recipe, I was thrilled to find hatcho miso in the Bay area to use. If you are looking for a deeply satisfying, savory, umami-filled hearty noodle dish, Misonikomi is for you! Make sure you not only have chopsticks, but a soup spoon as you will want to spoon and slurp up every drop of the addictively tantalizing, comforting and delicious soup broth.
If you like this, check out Kishimen Noodles from Nagoya too.
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Misonikomi Noodles from Nagoya
Ingredients
- 14 oz. handmade or dried thick udon noodles
- 5 oz. chicken breast boned, skinned, and cut into small bite-sized pieces
- 4 slices kamaboko, steamed fishcake optional
- 3 ½ oz. Japanese leeks roughly chopped
- 3 ½ oz. carrots cut into rounds
- 5 cups strong dashi
- 2-3 tablespoons hatcho miso soybean paste, or a mixture of 70% red miso and 30% brown miso
- 4 eggs
- 3 ½ oz. fresh spinach stemmed, washed, and parboiled, with excess water squeezed out
To garnish:
- Shichimitogarashi “seven tastes” pepper
Instructions
- Boil the chicken, kamaboko, leeks, and carrots in the dashi stock until half-way cooked. Remove.
- Next, add the udon to the stock and boil until it reaches a chewy consistency. Then add the hatcho miso and continue to cook. As soon as the stock returns to the boil, remove the udon and place in four deep soup bowls.
- Break the eggs into the stock (perhaps in two batches), and poach until half-way done. While the eggs are cooking, distribute the chicken, kamaboko, spinach, and other vegetables over the udon.
- Place one egg in the center of each serving, and ladle soup over it – the heat of the soup will finish cooking the chicken, vegetables, and egg. Serve shichimi pepper separately.
When I was a college student in Tokyo, I would often pass mobile food stalls, called yatai, late on blustery winter nights and be completely overwhelmed by the powerful aroma of oden, or Japanese hodgepodge stew. Oden’s pungent smell and taste have made it a perennial favorite with drinkers, no matter the season. It is definitely a comfort food in Japan and can be enjoyed anytime by everyone.
