I like to cook. I like Japanese food. Great stuff. I got it in my head to make some Udon. A soup that is known by its thick rice noodles and has a varied stock that includes vegetable, chicken, pork, beef, or fish broth as a base. Ever since I lived in Japan I've been partial to the beef based Udon soups. I don't have a recipe but I know the general shape of what can comprise a good Udon soup and here is what I did with some explanation.
Ingredients
2 Shallots
3-4 cloves of garlic
6 big carrots cut in big peices
1 cup of soy sauce
2 quarts beef broth(the good stuff, ask around if you aren't sure)
4-5 pound pot roast
2 packages of Kame brand Udon noodles
6-7 Chopped scallions
season to taste with
Red pepper
Salt
a little brown sugar goes a long way
Black pepper
Dark Soy(if you can find it and remember soy contains a lot of salt)
Hardware
Sharp knife(I cannot over emphasize SHARP), serrated might be best.
Plate
4 quart pot
Cutting board for meat(usually plastic 'cause glass will dull your knives quicker)
Cutting board for Veggies(usually wood)
*Yes two separate boards! Meat and Veggies ya gotta keep em separated!
Preheated oven, 350 degrees please
I started with some shallots and garlic cut into extremely coarsely... I really just quartered the cloves. Tossed it into a four quart oven safe sauce pan with about a table spoon of vegetable oil. Put it over a medium heat until the shallots turn slightly translucent(happens pretty fast gotta keep a close eye on it). I used enough oil to slightly coat a 4.5 pound piece of pot roast and a generous pinch of salt per side of meat rubbed on. Don't trim the fat. It just isn't a good idea! Ok. if you are that determined you can remove it later. Trust me for the moment and leave it as it is. The oil is a heat conductor and salt is for taste. Meat always has a grain(strings of cells attached end to end) meaning it does not have a uniform smooth surface. The oil gets into the gaps and conducts heat evenly from the pan to the meat. Conducting heat evenly from pan to meat makes a nice brown and delicious seared exterior.
Searing, the next step, I seared every side of the meat in the bottom of the pan containing the shallots over high heat. Nice thing about using a tall 4 quart pan is that you can position the meat such that it is leaning against a side to keep it from falling over. When moving the meat around it is important that you use tongs and not forks or knives. Treat the meat gently and you will be rewarded with tender juicy meat. I seared all sides of the meat for 5 minutes per side.
Then into a 350 Degree oven for 15 minutes to cook the insides a bit. Remove from the pan from the oven and place the meat over a fork or other utensil on a a plate. The utensil just keeps the meat from soaking in whatever juices decide to leak out. Let it rest.
Now add broth to the pot formerly containing the shallots and the meat and turn up the heat. Bring the broth to a boil and stir in the carrots. Bring the temperature down to a simmer.
Back to the meat. Transfer the meat to the cutting board and dump the drippings on the plate into the broth. Why waste it? Cut the meat into quarters or so, just so that you can cut strips about an inch and a half wide and as thin as you can off the hunks. After its all cut add it all to the pot.
Put the pot (covered this time) back in the oven for about a 15 minutes. Then I reduced the heat to 200 degrees and left it for a few hours or you could put it in a crock pot. Till I was ready to serve it.
Make the noodles according to their directions. Ya pre-made noodles are easy and quick(20 minutes or so). To serve add drained noodles to a bowl, add beef and veggies, and then ladle broth to cover. Garnish with chopped scallions and dig in.
I thought it was pretty good. It was also friend approved. Oh ya remember that bit about the fat? Well once it is done if you let it cool and then put it in the fridge over night the fat will magically float to the top and solidify. Just use a spoon to skim it out. That's how they make 99% fat free broth you find in the stores. I have no idea why you'd want to do such a thing though... it kills the taste. Fat is good!
