It's been a very wintery last few days here on the East Coast. Our weather station that's attached to the wall in our dining room currently reads an outdoor temperature of 8 degrees Fahrenheit. It's windy up here on our mountain, and everything is covered in ice.
It's the kind of weather that makes you hibernate. Not just because it's so cold, but with all of the ice on the roads, it's dangerous too. The type of weather that makes everyone in town rush to the local grocery store to stock up on milk and bread. The type of weather you hope doesn't knock out your power, so you can continue to use the internet, watch movies, and charge your phone. The type of weather that largely puts your plans on hold until the whole thing blows over.
After plowing the drive way, and shoveling the yard, Jake was craving a nice warm dinner, so he made a ramen soup using some sugar kelp from the farm, and it was to. die. for. It seriously hit the spot. 10 out of 10- would recommend for your next cozy day bundled up inside in front of your fire place waiting for an ice storm to pass. Seaweed soup for the win!
You'll Need:
6lbs chicken drumsticks, or a cooked small to medium sized rotisserie chicken
4 medium carrots cut into 1/2” thick rounds
3 small bunches scallions, roots trimmed
3 cups water
1 32oz container chicken broth
1 head garlic, peeled
1 2-3” piece ginger, peeled cut into 1/4” pieces
20 shiitake mushrooms
1 package of Nautical Farms Whole Leaf Kelp or seaweed of your choice
1 bottle soy sauce
1 bottle Kikkoman Mirin
4 large eggs, hard boiled
1 9.5oz package organic udon noodles
1 bottle sesame oil
Directions:
If you chose 6 lbs of chicken drumsticks instead of the cooked rotisserie chicken you’ll want to roast the wings in the oven at 425 degrees for 40-50 minutes.
Place a large stock pot on the stove top and add the chicken broth, and 3 cups of water. If you chose the cooked rotisserie chicken add 5 cups of water. Turn the burner on medium-low heat.
Add the peeled garlic cloves and ginger pieces, simmer for 5 minutes. Scoop out the garlic cloves and ginger pieces with a ladle and discard.
Add the carrots, mushrooms, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and seaweed. If you chose to roast the chicken, remove the chicken from the bones and pull it apart into smaller pieces. Add chicken to stock pot. Then add 1 cup of water to the pan you used to roast the chicken and stir it around until you scrape the contents of the pan together. Pour this into the stock pot. If you chose the rotisserie chicken, pull the meat apart into smaller pieces and add to the stock pot.
Simmer the contents on the stove top until the carrots are tender. Turn heat to low.
While the broth is simmering, hard boil your eggs. Be sure to stir the broth occasionally while cooking your eggs and pasta.
Set the hardboiled eggs aside and cook the noodles according the instructions on the package. Once the noodles are cooked, strain all the water out and add the noodles to the broth. Stir well.
It’s time to serve. Peel the hardboiled eggs, cut in half, and set aside. Use a pasta server to add the desired portion of noodles to your bowl, then use a large ladle to add the desired amount of broth, and the remaining contents. Add one or two egg halves to the bowl.
Drizzle a small amount of sesame oil on top of the bowl and enjoy.