Brown Rice Udon Noodles In A Hot Bowl Of Dashi…The Princes Approve!!!!

This is a staple meal in my home and is one of the very few vegan dishes that consistently gets the “thumbs up” from my teenage boys. As some of you may not know, “dashi” is a basic stock which is made from kombu, a sea vegetable, and dried shiitake mushrooms. It often contains some type of noodle in it such as mugwort or soba noodles. My sons prefer brown rice udon noodles. This is a healthy meal since sea vegetables contain many minerals including calcium, iron, potassium, iodine and magnesium. There are many ways to make dashi but here is the version that works for us and will feed four adults.

BROWN RICE UDON NOODLES IN BOWL OF DASHI

Ingredients:

2 (8.8 oz.) packages of Eden brown rice udon noodles

10 cups of water

1 (0.75 oz.) bag of dried organic shiitake mushroom slices or 10 dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed

1 (6-inch) piece of kombu, rinsed

1/4 cup tamari soy sauce

1 1/2  tablespoons toasted sesame oil

one chunk of ginger root

4 scallions, sliced

Directions:

Prepare the udon noodles as directed on the package, drain and rinse them in cold water. Set aside.

Pour 10 cups of water into a stock pot and add the rinsed mushrooms and kombu. Bring water to a boil, then lower the flame and simmer for 20 minutes. While stock is simmering, add grated ginger into the pot. After 20 minutes, strain out the mushrooms and kombu. When kombu cools, thinly slice it up into little pieces and add it back into the broth.

Add the tamari and toasted sesame oil.

Place the noodles into serving bowls and ladle the hot broth over the noodles. Garnish with scallions.