Udon noodle in an easy to make soup with red amaranth, bok choy, and mushroom. Simple and delicious, this vegetable udon noodle soup is the perfect choice for a breezy spring day.
Oh my gosh!
It’s the weekend!
Well, it’s the start of my weekend anyway since I had to work this last Saturday. It felt like such a long week, especially coming off of spring break where all I did was cook and eat and read. The life. But one of the perks of being a dental hygienist is that your schedule isn’t necessarily a Monday to Friday kind of week. And it gives me the flexibility to run errands on a weekday, which is absolutely amazing because I don’t have to deal with lines or wait long most of the time. Yes!
Anyways, I’m super excited to share with you this udon noodle soup. I know, I know. It doesn’t sound exciting. But trust me, this udon noodle soup is so delish. And you can substitute your favorite vegetables for the ones I chose, especially if you can’t find the ones I used.
I’m such a huge fan of noodle soups. I don’t care whether it’s pho, ramen, udon, or wonton noodle soup. I just really really love them. I’m willing to eat noodle soup even when it’s 100F outside. Which must mean something, right?
Some of my favorite vegetables are bok choy and red amaranth, but let’s be honest, I love my vegetables. Almost any vegetable will do. You’re probably familiar with bok choy. Red amaranth is similar to spinach, but it has red hues in the leaves. When you cook the red amaranth leaves, the redness seeps out and color the soup or your stir fry a deep red color. So pretty!
I knew I had to add both to this soup.
First, prepare the vegetables. Slice the mushroom. I used a medium sized king trumpet mushroom, but you can use 2-3 large white mushrooms. Remove the red amaranth leaves from the stem and separate the layers of leaves of the bok choy. Wash the vegetables thoroughly, especially the bok choy. Sometimes little worms and bugs can hide in the folds of the leaves. If there are holes in the leaves, there might be something hidden in the leaves so be thorough when you’re washing your vegetables.
In a medium sized pot over medium to high heat, add dashi powder and water. Stir to dissolve the powder.
I use kombu dashi, which is made of kelp. There are other versions such as bonito (fish). But I like having kombu dashi powder since it’s vegetarian. Super easy to make this version of dashi. The box comes with 10 packets, but it’s nice to have them on hand for when you’re craving udon or miso soup.
Next, add soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free version) and mirin. Stir to incorporate the seasoning. The soup will turn a dark brown color.
Once the broth comes to a boil, add the bok choy, red amaranth leaves, and mushrooms, and cook for about a minute.
Next, add the udon noodles. Cook until the udon noodles have softened.
You can use different udons for this soup. I prefer frozen udons because they’re easy to use and have no flavor added to them. You can also use instant udon packs (the ones that look like instant ramen), but remove the seasoning before you use it. However, these udon sometimes have flavor added to them. I would cook the instant udon in a separate pot rather than directly in the pot to avoid changing the flavor of the soup.
Divide the noodles and vegetables into two bowls.
Serve the vegetable udon noodle soup warm.
Enjoy!
Come join me and other food bloggers at Fiesta Friday co-hosted by Julie from Hostess at Heart and Ashley from Too Zesty.
- 1 packet of kombu dashi powder
- 3 cups water
- 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 3-4 bok choy, sliced
- 1cup red amaranth leaves (or spinach)
- 1 trumpet mushroom, sliced (or 3-4 large white mushrooms)
- 2 servings of udon
- In a medium sized pot over medium to high heat, add dashi powder and water. Stir to dissolve the powder in the water.
- Next, add soy sauce (or tamari) and mirin. Stir to incorporate the seasoning. The soup will turn a dark brown color.
- Once the broth comes to a boil, add the bok choy, red amaranth leaves, and mushrooms, and cook for about a minute.
- Next, add the udon noodles. Cook the udon noodles until they have softened, about 3-4 minutes, or according to the direction on the package.
- Divide the noodles and vegetables into two bowls.
- Serve the udon noodle soup warm.
Fantastic recipe and always beautiful photography! Thank you!