Kitsune Udon

Yield

2 bowls

Time

30 minutes (plus 30 min if making dashi from scratch)

Equipment

• Medium saucepan for the broth
• Small saucepan for the aburaage
• Large pot for the noodles

Ingredients

Dashi (or 3½ cups good instant dashi)

• 4 cups (950 ml) cold water
• 1 piece kombu, about 4 in (10 g)
• 1 cup loosely packed katsuobushi (bonito flakes, 15 g)

Sweet simmered aburaage

• 2 sheets aburaage (fried tofu pouches), halved
• ½ cup (120 ml) dashi
• 1½ Tbsp soy sauce
• 1½ Tbsp mirin
• 1 Tbsp sugar

Udon broth (kakejiru)

• 3 cups (720 ml) dashi
• 1 Tbsp usukuchi (light) soy sauce, or regular soy
• 1 Tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp kosher salt, to taste

To serve

• 2 portions frozen sanuki udon
• 2 scallions or 1 negi, thinly sliced
• 4 slices kamaboko (fish cake), optional
• Shichimi togarashi

Instructions

• Make the dashi: soak the kombu in the cold water for 20–30 minutes. Heat slowly and pull the kombu just before it boils. Add the katsuobushi, simmer 1 minute, then turn off the heat. Steep 5 minutes and strain without squeezing.
• Prep the aburaage: pour boiling water over the halves to remove excess oil, then gently press dry.
• Simmer the aburaage: bring ½ cup dashi, soy, mirin and sugar to a simmer. Add the aburaage, cover with a small lid or a round of parchment, and simmer on low 10–12 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. Let it cool in the pan; it soaks up more flavor as it rests.
• Make the broth: heat 3 cups dashi with the light soy, mirin, sugar and salt to a bare simmer. Taste. It should be clear, light and slightly sweet.
• Cook the udon in plenty of boiling water according to the package, usually 1–2 minutes from frozen. Drain well.
• Divide the noodles between warmed bowls and ladle the hot broth over them.
• Top each bowl with two pieces of aburaage, the kamaboko and the scallions. Serve with shichimi at the table.

Why It Works

The broth is Kansai style: pale and delicate, built on a good dashi with light soy, so the sweet, juicy aburaage stands out against it. Blanching the tofu first strips off old frying oil so it drinks in the soy-mirin simmer. Letting it cool in its liquid is the secret to the soaked-through, almost custardy bite. Frozen sanuki udon is what most Japanese home cooks use, and it has better chew than shelf-stable noodles.

Notes

Kitsune means fox. In folklore, aburaage is the fox's favorite food. The simmered aburaage keeps 3–4 days in the fridge and is also great in inari sushi. For a vegan version, use kombu-shiitake dashi in place of the bonito.