Here is a recipe for some (semi) traditional Japanese fare that I have been enjoying making recently! It is a warm, salty-sweet noodle dish with delicious fried tofu.
In Japanese, kitsune (きつね) means fox. Often in Japanese folklore, it is said that foxes always enjoy eating fried bean curd--hence the name, kitsune udon (fox udon)!
This version is a little bit bare-boned because I didn't have all the ingredients necessary, but it is super simple to make and I think it's still tasty. It's perfect for a light meal or snack--feel free to add and adjust the ingredients as you like to make it more robust.
Unlike the traditional Japanese version which typically contains fish in the broth, this is a 100% vegan version of the dish. I used Just One Cookbook to get the broth proportions correct!
Ingredients Needed (serves 1 person):
Sanuki Udon--pack of 5 for $5.69 from my local Nijiya (Japanese grocery). There are cheaper brands out there but Sanuki is high quality and guaranteed to be delicious! You can find udon at other Japanese/Asian grocery stores, too (Marukai, Mitsuwa, 99 Ranch), or even in the "Asian cooking" section of your local Safeway/Whole Foods. For one person, use one pack.
Inariage--12 sheets for $4.29. Sweetened fried bean curd sheets that are either used for inarizushi or kitsune udon! I bought mine prepared because I'm lazy (you can opt to make this yourself if you want). Pretty sure you can only buy this prepared version at your local Japanese market. For one serving, I used two sheets.
Konbu (kelp) dashi--$2.99 for a supply that will last one person weeks/months! Perhaps the most important ingredient for all vegan/vegetarian Japanese cooking! Dashi, a vital component in a lot of Japanese cooking, usually contains bonito flakes, so it is very important that you buy this variety. Unless you want to make your own soup base, you probably have to buy this at your local Japanese/Asian market.
Shoyu/Soy sauce and Mirin--Again, very vital components in Japanese cooking. Soy sauce provides the salty taste, and mirin will provide the sweetness. You can buy both of these pretty much anywhere--check for mirin in the Asian section of your local supermarket. I spent $2.19 for the soy sauce and $4.99 on the Mirin at my Nijiya.
One more ingredient you'll want to add (if you have it), is green onion for garnish. Cut it into razor-thin slices and top the dish with it once you put it in a bowl. You can also prepare more vegetables (spinach, mushrooms) if you'd like.
The Cooking Process:
First, start out with boiling a small pot of water on your stove. I don't own measuring cups so I just approximate everything, but put about as much water as you would like broth in your udon!
From there, I added in about 1/5th of a packet of konbu dashi, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of mirin. Make sure you taste the broth as you go to make sure you like it! You can add in some sugar (about 1 tablespoon), if you like, but since the inariage I'm use is already sweetened, I didn't add it.
Your broth should look about this color. Make sure to taste and add in more soy sauce/mirin/dashi as you see fit!
Once the broth is boiling, you can add in your noodles. This is a very quick-cooking dish so it will only take about 3-5 minutes for the udon to cook. After about 2 minutes, put in the noodles, add in the bean curd (and vegetables, if applicable--I added some spinach).
Once the noodles are cooked, take the pot off the stove and transfer to your bowl! If you have green onions to top the dish, do so now.
Ready to eat!
This is my first time writing a recipe/food preparation guide, so if you have any suggestions or tips, please let me know! This is a really simple, but delicious dish to make and I hope you try out and make it for yourselves.
Stay tuned for more posts!
