Miso Nikomi Udon (Nagoya-Style Udon Simmered in Red Miso)
Cuisine: Japanese
Region: 愛知県
Servings: 2人分
Miso Nikomi Udon (Nagoya-Style Udon Simmered in Red Miso) is a home-style staple dish. Ingredients and step-by-step instructions are below, with notes for home cooking.
Ingredients
- Boiled udon noodles, 2 portions
- Dashi stock, 500 ml
- Red miso (soybean miso such as Hatcho miso), 3 tbsp
- Sugar, 1 tsp
- Aburaage (fried tofu pouch), 1 sheet
- Boneless chicken thigh, 60 g
- Eggs, 2
- Kamaboko fish cake (red), 40 g
- Japanese leek (naganegi), 20 g
Steps
- Cut the chicken thigh into 1.5 cm cubes. Pour boiling water over the aburaage to remove excess oil and cut it into 1 cm strips. Slice the kamaboko into 5 mm half-moons and the leek thinly on the diagonal.
- Put the red miso and sugar in a small bowl, add about one ladleful of dashi and stir until smooth. Soybean miso dissolves poorly, so loosening it first keeps it from forming lumps.
- Pour the dashi into a clay pot and heat over medium. When it boils, add the dissolved miso, chicken and aburaage. Simmer for 3–4 minutes until the chicken changes color and is cooked through.
- Add the udon and simmer over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, turning it over from the bottom of the pot now and then. It's ready when the noodles turn reddish brown and the broth thickens slightly.
- Scatter the kamaboko and leek on top, make a small hollow in the center and crack in the eggs. Cover and cook for 1–2 minutes, turning off the heat once the edges of the whites begin to turn white.
- Bring it to the table with the lid on. Using the lid as a small plate to cool the piping-hot noodles bit by bit is the classic Nagoya way to enjoy it.
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Notes
A single-serving clay pot holds the heat well, so it stays hot to the last bite, and you can enjoy how the noodle texture changes as you eat.
If Hatcho miso alone tastes too astringent or bitter, mix in some akadashi miso or add a little mirin to soften the edges.
Specialty shops use fresh noodles made without salt, which stay firm even after long simmering. If you can find them, try simmering fresh noodles directly in the broth (extend the cooking time, using the package instructions as a guide).
Mushrooms such as shiitake or shimeji are also a good addition.
Add rice to the leftover broth and bind it with egg to finish with a miso rice porridge.
Origin and history
Alongside kishimen, this is one of Aichi Prefecture's signature noodle dishes: chewy noodles bubbled in a broth of deep reddish-brown soybean miso. It began as home cooking and is said to have been served in eateries in Ichinomiya as early as the Meiji era, later spreading with Nagoya at its center.
The key to the flavor, Hatcho miso, is a soybean miso born in Hatcho Village (today Hacho-cho in Okazaki City), located eight cho (about 870 m) west of Okazaki Castle. It is made almost entirely from soybeans and fermented and aged for a long time, giving it a rich color and taste. The Mikawa region has long had a deep-rooted red miso culture, and many miso-based local dishes have been handed down there.
Each restaurant has its own miso blend and toppings, making it a beloved soul food for locals and visitors alike.