A quick and easy, nutritious and delicious miso soup with prawns and udon noodles. Having some dashi, fresh or frozen, would be fantastic but if you haven’t got any, just use some fresh water and follow the rest of the instructions. I think it makes the perfect quick lunch but is also perfect for dinner on a cold and wet day.
I’m using 2 types of miso here, akamiso (dark and strong) and shiromiso (light in colour and flavour) but feel free to use what you have at hand & adjust to taste. Learn more about Miso Paste here.
For more recipes in our ongoing Japanese series, please visit the Japanese Page.
You’ll find my cooking videos on YouTube as well.
Miso Soup with Prawns and Udon Noodles
A quick and easy, nutritious and delicious miso soup with prawns and udon noodles, using dashi and stock made from the prawn (shrimp) shells.
Ingredients
- 600ml (2 2/5 cups) dashi (water or any stock, half strength)
- 12 large prawns (shrimps), in shell
- 2 handfuls cabbage, sliced thinly
- 2.5cm (1") fresh ginger, cut in strips
- 2 spring onions (scallions), sliced, white and green kept separately
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar (optional)
- 300g (10.5oz) fresh udon noodles
- 2 tsp dark miso
- 1-2 Tbsp light miso
- 1/2 red chilli, sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Clean the prawns. Twist the head off carefully, leaving the rest of the shell on. The intestinal vein that runs along the back of the prawn should be visible & just sticking out. Give it a firm pull if you prefer to eat your prawns without. If you prefer your prawns completely without shell on, by all means, strip it naked, but keep the head and shell for the broth for both methods.
- When done, give all the heads a clean by squeezing the gunk out and rinsing them.
- Then place all the heads and shells (not the prawns!) if you've removed them into a saucepan along with the dashi (or water) and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, removing any nasty foam that collects. Strain into a clean saucepan.
- Place this saucepan on medium heat, add the prawns, cabbage, ginger and the white part of the spring onions to the dashi (or water), along with the soy sauce and rice vinegar. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes until your prawns are just about done.
- Add the udon noodles, cook for a minute and take off heat.
- Add the spinach, give it a stir to gently heat through.
- Finally, add the miso, check the seasoning, divide into 2 bowls & top with the green part of the spring onions and chilli slices if using.
This is simply amazing! I would love to try my hand at this!
Thank you Devika, it’s delicious, especially on a cold day!