Umeboshi paste is a salty, tangy Japanese condiment made from dried, pickled ume fruits. It is used to enhance the taste of sauces, pickles, vinaigrettes, veganaise, cooked vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, etc), rice, noodles, …

This noodles dish takes about half an hour to prepare. The recipe serves 2, or you could use it for 4 starters.

Umeboshi broth with soba noodles

Umeboshi broth with soba noodles – vegan

Ingredients

• 1 red onion, chopped in chunks
• 3 cloves grated garlic
• 1 tbs grated ginger
• 1/4 cup umeboshi paste (up to 1/3 cup if you want it to taste more salty)
• 200 to 250g fresh shiitake
• 300 to 400g fresh green vegetables (large leaved chicory; spinach, chard, kale, …), cut in large pieces
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup shoyu (or tamari if you like it more salty)
• 200 to 250g soba or udon noodles (1 pack)
• 0,5 l vegetable stock
• peanut oil or sesame oil, to bake

Preparation

Boil the noodles as indicated on the pack, rince them with boiling water and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan (wok style).
Bake the onions, make sure they don’t turn brown. Add the garlic and ginger and bake for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the shiitakes (cut the large ones in half) and bake for another 2 minutes.
Add the vegetable stock, mirin, shoyu and umeboshi, and mix well.
Bring to a boil.
Cut the green vegetables in large pieces (you can remove the stems and ribs if you don’t like these) and add these to the broth.
Let it boil for 15 minutes (if necessary, add some more vegetable stock if it evaporates too fast), untill the shiitakes (and the vegetables) are al dente.

Put some noodles in a bowl, add vegetables and mushrooms on top, add broth and serve.

Umeboshi broth with soba noodles, ingredients

Umiboshi broth with soba noodles, preparation