Hot soba with miso

Submitted by aoeu

This is an easy, quick, and satisfying Japanese-ish noodle soup. It's vegetarian except for the soup-base, which is optional. Soba noodles kind of create their own broth, which is often poured off and sipped separately like tea, but in this case the 'soba tea' is part of the soup.

Ingredients

 * One bundle soba (buckwheat) noodles
 * Aka miso (red miso)
 * A quarter of a large block of tofu
 * Half a carrot
 * A handful of spinach leaves
 * Black sesame seeds
 * Mentsuyu (soup base). This is optional, and renders the soup non-vegetarian as it has fish extract in it.
 * Toasted sesame oil
 * Red pepper flakes - optional.

I like coarse miso paste, as it dissolves easily, but whatever kind you like is fine. The tofu can be silken, medium, or firm.. silken is typical in soup, but this isn't a delicate dish so whatever you have on hand is fine. The Mentsuyu soup base just adds a bit of flavor to the soup, but it's OK without. Most Mentsuyu contains MSG, which is probably part of the reason it improves the taste, but the bonito and kelp extracts help too.

Preparation

 * 1) Cut the half a carrot into thin strips
 * 2) Dice the tofu into small cubes
 * 3) Wash and cut the spinach leaves into smaller pieces - if the leaves are already small, you can leave them as is.

Directions

 * 1) Boil three cups of cold water in a saucepan (do not add salt), and add the carrots and tofu. Add the red pepper flakes as well, if you are using them.
 * 2) After the carrots and tofu have boiled for about two minutes, add the bundle of soba noodles. Soba noodles cook very quickly, much quicker than pasta, so keep an eye on them.
 * 3) When the noodles are almost cooked, but not quite, turn off the heat, and add the spinach leaves. These should quickly wilt. Also, add several teaspoonfuls of the black sesame seeds.
 * 4) Add about 2 teaspoons of the Mentsuyu soup base, if desired - this is not the actual soup base for this dish, just adding flavor.
 * 5) Finally, add about three heaping teaspoonfuls of miso. The miso shouldn't be cooked, just added at the end. Depending on the type of miso you are using, you may want to remove some of the water from the saucepan in a bowl, dissolve the miso in that, and re-add it to the saucepan. Some types of miso dissolve more easily than others. This is why I like the coarse miso - it can go straight into the soup. The amount you use depends on the type and your taste preferences. The good thing is that it's easy to correct, since it doesn't need to be cooked. Too much, just add a bit more water. Too little, just add more!

Pour about a teaspoon of sesame oil into the bottom of a large serving bowl. Then pour the contents of the saucepan into the bowl.