Finally we had a day here in San Diego that wasn’t scorching hot. Much to my delight, it was a bit overcast, a little coolish, with even a little drizzle. I was so happy. As soon as I see the slightest bit of gloomy weather, I know I have to make some kind of soup, so today was a day for Japanese noodle soup. Like with most soups, you can add anything you want to yours. Typically, Ramen “houses” (restaurants) make  their noodles with a good broth, noodles, vegetables and a sliced boiled egg. I make so many variations of this soup. This is the one I made tonight. I didn’t have any Japanese noodles, YIKES…pretty much unheard of in my house….so I even used angel hair pasta. While the right Ramen noodles are important, the broth is the key…..seriously. So please don’t buy those dried, instant, full of sodium, hard crunchy noodles that you just add hot water to. Make this!! And use chopsticks too….your soup will taste better and you’ll feel all Japanese and stuff. I always use chopsticks for this, but I kinda have to since I’m half Japanese. 🙂
The broth is so easy and delicious. You will love it.
 

Japanese Noodles

2 chicken thighs (you can use pork, seafood or beef too) or leave out the meat altogether and use a vegetable broth
approx. 8 cups of water
3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tsp chicken bouillon (or vegetable bouillon)
1 tablespoon of miso soup paste (found in Asian markets) if you can’t find it, don’t worry about it
a 2″ chunk of fresh ginger, sliced
angel hair pasta, cooked and set aside (if you have access to an Asian market, look for fresh ramen noodles)
hard-boiled eggs, sliced
veggie of your choice ( I prefer spinach, bean sprouts)
green onion for garnish

Place your choice of meat in a pot with the water. If making a veggie version, use vegetable broth instead of water. Add the soy sauce, bouillion, miso and ginger. Let everything simmer until meat is thoroughly cooked. Add salt to taste. Remove meat and slice it up.
Place some noodles in a serving bowl. Ladle some broth on top. Place the meat slices, egg and veggies on top in a pretty manner. Sprinkle with green onion. Grab your chopsticks and slurp, slurp. As I said, you can add anything you like to this dish. Just make sure you have a great tasting broth! Enjoy