I know, I know, I know. I am fully aware that my last post was a soup recipe too, and maybe that makes you think I’ve gotten boring. But we are living in a BOMB CYCLONE people! It’s negative 76,092 degrees outside and windy as all get-out to boot– now is the time for soup, soup, and nothing but soup, until our long national nightmare is over.
When it’s too cold to venture outdoors, the only solution is to turn to whatever odds and ends you’ve got in your fridge and your pantry and make something delicious. (Or at least something passable until you can venture to the grocery store without losing a digit or two to frostbite.) This soup is just what the doctor ordered on these such occasions. I always have a wide array of Asian sauces in my fridge; if you don’t, I would highly recommend getting some! A lot of cuisines from that part of the world have a great deal going for them, and winter is the perfect time to give them a try! They can often be veggie-heavy and involve very little (if any) dairy, so they’re great for those who are trying to be a little more nutritionally responsible at the start of a new year. And all the strong, umami-heavy flavors you find in many Asian cuisines make the food really exciting to eat, and even more exciting to experiment with.
This soup is magically, ceaselessly customizable. Missing a few of the broth ingredients? Doesn’t matter at all. Got a lime laying around? Add some juice! Same goes for peanut butter, or coconut milk if you’d like to make a creamier version. Don’t have kale or peppers, but do have squash, sweet potatoes, or zucchini? Make some veggie noodles or cut ’em into chunks and toss ’em in! Not into eating things that used to have a heartbeat? Swap out the shrimp for tofu or tempeh, or mushrooms if you’re into that sort of thing. (I love you anyway.) Much like frittatas, this soup is a great catch-all for whatever veggie odds and ends you’ve got hiding in the recesses of your fridge, so skip a miserable trip to the store and go nuts.
And the broth, if I do say so myself, is the bomb.com. I would absolutely bathe in this stuff, and I honestly don’t even think anybody would be mad about it, because I would smell pretty freaking delicious as a result.
This soup made the extremely short list of “dishes that my usual cooking audience loves that don’t involve heavy cream.” If that, in the dead of winter when bodies practically need heavy cream to survive, is not enough to convince you to give it a shot, I don’t know what is.
Spicy Shrimp Udon Noodle Soup (makes 4 servings)
- Peanut Oil
- 12 oz. uncooked Shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 5 cloves Garlic, minced and divided
- 2-inch knob fresh Ginger, grated and divided
- 1 stalk Lemongrass, thinly sliced and divided
- 1 1/2 T. Fish Sauce, divided
- 2 T. Soy Sauce, divided
- 1 T. Honey
- 1 T. Sesame Oil
- 4 T. Rice Vinegar, divided
- 2 T. White Miso
- 2 T. Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
- 6 c. Vegetable Broth
- 2 t. Sriracha
- 9 oz. Udon Noodles
- 3-4 c. Kale, chopped & ribs removed (not necessary, really, but it’s much nicer imho)
- 1 Bell Pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 c. Carrots, shredded
- 4 Soft-Boiled Eggs
- Roasted, Unsalted Peanuts, chopped (to taste as garnish)
- Furikake, to taste (Japanese sesame seed and seaweed seasoning)
- Scallions, sliced (to taste as garnish)
- Chili Oil, drizzled (to taste as garnish)
Combine shrimp, half the garlic, half the ginger, half the lemongrass, 1/2 T. fish sauce, 1 T. soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and 2 T. rice vinegar in a bowl; cover with plastic wrap and set aside to marinade. In a pot over med-low heat, drizzle some peanut oil and add in remaining garlic, ginger, and lemongrass. Cook for a few minutes until fragrant, then add miso and gochujang, stirring to combine. Add veggie broth, scraping the bottom of the pot to get any pieces that may have stuck. Add in sriracha and remaining fish sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Bring to a boil, then add noodles. Stir occasionally to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Meanwhile, place a small amount of peanut oil in a cold pan, then add shrimp and marinade and turn the burner on to med-low heat. Cook shrimp until just pink, then remove from heat. When noodles are nearly cooked, reduce heat to medium and add in kale. Cook for a few minutes, then add bell pepper and cook for just a minute more before removing from heat. Add shrimp and marinade to the pot, then taste the broth and adjust flavors as necessary (for me, I wanted a bit more fish sauce and rice vinegar). To serve, I use tongs to place the noodles/vegetables/shrimp in a bowl, then use a ladle to spoon the broth over top. Garnish with shredded carrots, a soft-boiled egg, peanuts, furikake, scallions, and a small drizzle of chili oil.
As I write this post, the wind is howling in the dark night outside and my last bowl of this soup is gone. I am so, so, wildly sad. Thank god I’ve got some coffee ice cream in the fridge as a pick-me-up. Nothing says “bomb cyclone” like that, eh?
Law and Lentils 