My easier version of tempura udon. There's no attempt to mimic the tempura part specifically, but more the spirit of a fresh, hot bowl of udon-soup.
1 roast chicken from your local grocery store (or do it yourself if you've got the inclination)
1 bundle fresh spinach for every 2-3 people
2-3 fresh (preferably) or dried shiitake mushroom for each person
udon noodles*
soy sauce
mirin
"instant" dashi (comes like powdered bouillion)
shichimi (togarashi)** - optional but tasty!
Put a saucepan of water on to boil. Wash and chop spinach, keeping some stems if they're not too fiber-y. When water is boiling dunk spinach in just long enough to wilt it, then into colander and rinse with cool water. Saucepan back on stove with more water to cook udon. Use a clean dishtowl to squeeze most of the water out of the spinach, ending up with 8-9 small bundles (more appetizing word than "wads") of spinach.
Pull chicken off bones and chop to large-ish soup-sized pieces. I use 1/2-3/4 c. meat per person.
Udon into boiling water, cook to desired firmness, dump in colander, rinse briefly with hot water and put saucepan lid over udon.
Add to saucepan for EACH diner:
: just under half-full soup bowl (large but single-serving) of water
: 2-3 T. soy sauce
: 1 1/2 T. mirin
: 1/4 t. instant dashi
Add shiitakes to the broth as well.
Cook broth about 5 minutes (more if the mushrooms are dried).
Preheat the soup bowls with hot water (since some ingredients are close to room temp). Also run some hot water over the udon to heat it a bit. Then spinach and chicken attractively arranged on top. Pour broth over it all, distributing mushrooms fairly.
Finish with a little shichimi sprinkled on top for a little added spice.
* I prefer the dried, slightly thinner, udon that you can get at Trader Joe's. I find the ramen-like packets of hydrated udon to be pretty nasty-tasting.
** Shichimi is found in the Japanese section in a small shaker bottle. It's a lovely seasoning with dried peppers & sesame seeds as the dominant flavors.
