Here is a great comfort food dish for my husband K. It is soup, it is hot, it has mushrooms, and it is Asian! He was interested when I talked about my ideas for it. It was inspired by a recipe I pulled from the magazine Shape. I jazzed it up a bunch, including adding meat, although we decided that you don’t need meat for this. The mushrooms take care of that meaty flavor for you. I had never bought udon noodles before, and after realizing I had to look up online how long you are supposed to cook them (the package lacked English directions), I got to taste them. They are saltier than I expected, so keep that in mind when preparing your soup. On purpose, I added water instead of more broth to keep the salt level in check.
We served the soup with some Asian veggies. You could stir spinach into this, or have the vegetable on the side like we did. This dish does not have any complicated ingredients. The only items we do not always have on hand are the udon noodles and cilantro. The beef was a splurge. You could just as easily make this more like a ramen by adding a poached egg. I also want to try replacing the cup of water with the “broth” you get from re-hydrating the mushrooms. It is supposed to have a lot of flavor, and I think would enhance this dish even more.
This dish got me a bunch of kisses and thank yous, even after I had K do all of the chopping (except for the cashews). Apparently it was super tasty! He ended up getting seconds, but then realized he shouldn’t have. So, this should serve 4, or maybe 2 really hungry people? The noodles get really puffy and expand quite a bit from how they start:
Directions for Udon Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms and Beef
Inspired by Shape Magazine
- 1 package udon noodles (about 6-8 ounces)
- About 8 dried Shiitake mushrooms (rehydrate them, remove the stems, and slice them)
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon red chili paste (or use another spicy substitute like a jalapeno)
- 1 Tablespoon ginger, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound to 1 pound ribeye, thinly sliced like for hotpot recipes
- 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
- Oil
Cook the udon noodles according to the package directions (about 6 minutes in boiling water is the norm). Drain and set aside while preparing the rest of the ingredients. In a big pot, dry roast the cashews. Let them cool, then chop them.
Add a small amount of oil to the pan over medium heat, allowing it to shimmer. Add 1/2 of the green onions and all of the mushrooms.
Saute for a few minutes to brown the mushrooms (about 5-8 minutes).
Stir in the red chili paste, ginger, and garlic.
Cook for a minute,
It smelled amazing at this point!
then add the chicken broth and water. Bring to a simmer before stirring in the udon noodles.
Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
Before the 10 minutes…
Remove the lid.
After simmering!
If you are cooking with the beef, continue, otherwise skip to the next section. Bring the soup to a boil and stir in the beef.
Super thin
It will cook very quickly. Alternatively, you can pour the boiling soup over the beef in a bowl to cook it.
Stir in the cilantro and remaining green onions.
Top the soup with the cashews.
Directions for Udon Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms and Beef (without pictures)
Inspired by Shape Magazine
- 1 package udon noodles (about 6-8 ounces)
- About 8 dried Shiitake mushrooms (rehydrate them, remove the stems, and slice them)
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon red chili paste (or use another spicy substitute like a jalapeno)
- 1 Tablespoon ginger, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound to 1 pound ribeye, thinly sliced like for hotpot recipes
- 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
- Oil
Cook the udon noodles according to the package directions (about 6 minutes in boiling water is the norm). Drain and set aside while preparing the rest of the ingredients. In a big pot, dry roast the cashews. Let them cool, then chop them.
Add a small amount of oil to the pan over medium heat, allowing it to shimmer. Add 1/2 of the green onions and all of the mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes to brown the mushrooms (about 5-8 minutes). Stir in the red chili paste, ginger, and garlic. Cook for a minute, then add the chicken broth and water. Bring to a simmer before stirring in the udon noodles. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the lid. If you are cooking with the beef, continue, otherwise skip to the next section. Bring the soup to a boil and stir in the beef. It will cook very quickly. Alternatively, you can pour the boiling soup over the beef in a bowl to cook it.
Stir in the cilantro and remaining green onions. Top the soup with the cashews.
Have you ever tried frozen udon noodles? It might not appeal to you but I’ve been stocking it in my freezer ever since my sister introduced me to it. Some can be mushy once cooked (you plop it right into boiling water w/o defrosting) but my sister turned me on to a good one (imported from Japan by “JFC”) that is very good. They come in a pack of 5 so you can use one at a time. It is super convenient. : )
We haven’t tried them. I’ll have to be on the lookout.
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