Intro:
I came up with this dish quite sometime ago and I it was one of those that hit hard the first time round, therefore, naturally being a cook I wanted to perfect it even more so. Japanese/Italian food is under rated yet incredibly delicious so I wanted to combine Umami rich ingredients such as miso, parmesan, soy, shiitakes into one umami bomb of a bite paying homage to both cultures food. Tons of Umami and texture is the secret here and a good overall balance of flavours. With all that said let’s get straight to it!
Method
Alkaline Noodles:
1. Before we begin to make the noodles we firstly need to make up the spinach water which will give the noodles that vibrant green and earthy flavour. In a saucepan add 300mls of water then bring the water up to a boil. When boiling, add 100g of washed spinach and boil for 45 seconds or until the spinach has completely wilted. Next, add the spinach water to a food processor and pulse for 5 minutes or until completely liquidised. When ready pass through a fine sieve then we have our spinach water. Measure out 195mls and set to one side saving the rest also as we will use this for the miso sauce.
2. Now to make some noodles, to the 195mls of spinach water add 5g of lye water which will act as the kansui and 5g of salt. Mix well to dissolve the salt then in a large seperate bowl add 500g of all purpose flour. Slowly add the spinach water mixture to the flour whilst mixing vigourosly with a pair of chopsticks. This will enable the flour to become as evenly hydrated as possible. When all of the water is added begin to mix with your hands until a sand like flour is formed. Add the flakey flour to a ziplock bag and try to remove as much air as possible. Seal the bag and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes of resting it is at this point where things start to get slightly interesting. To bring the dough together we simply going to go about this using the Japanese method of using our feet. Not sure ow Italians would feel but let’s get to it. Place a towel over the ziplock bag then begin to step on the dough to bring together and to form a flat sheet of dough. When ready, remove the dough from the ziplock and roll the dough into a cylinder. Place a towel over the top again and flatten out the dough. Repeat this 3-4 times then by the end of it the dough should be much more manageable. Store back in the ziplock bag and rest for a further 30 minutes.
4. After 30 minutes of final resting, the dough is now ready to work. Cut the dough up into 3-4 equal sized pieces then roll out each piece of dough so that it is large enough to fit through the the largest setting on your pasta machine. When ready feed one piece through the largest setting on the pasta machine then fold the sheet into half lenghways then roll out again so that it can fit back through the largest setting. This is called laminating the dough and this helps to make the noodles nice and bouncy. When ready, begin to feed the dough through the settings until as thick as you want the noodles to be. When ready, dust both sides of the dough generously with cornstarch then finally run through the cutting setting. When cut, dust again with cornstarch and lay the noodles onto a tray and repeat this process for each piece of dough. Cover and store the noodles in the refridgerator over night.
Edamame Pesto:
5. The following day after the noodles have rested we can begin to bring the rest of the dish together. Let’s begin by making a edamame pesto/sauce/puree? Remove the beans from 100g of edamame, mince 2 garlic cloves, slice 5g ginger and finely slice 3 spring onions. Next, place a small saucepan onto a medium heat, add a touch of cooking oil then add the ginger and garlic first. When fragrant, add 2 tbsp mirin and 100mls of the spinach water saved from making the noodles (you can use water if you forgot) then bring the liquid up to a boil. When boiling add the edamame beans and spring onions then simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the beans are softened. When just cooked remove from the heat and season with salt then add the beans and liquid to a food processor. Pulse on high for 2-3 minutes to completely break down the edamame then when ready pass through a fine sieve. Adjust the seasoning if needed and set the puree to one side for now.
Shiitake Crumb:
6. Now to prepare some texture and umami goodness that we will add when plating the dish. To make a shiitake crumb start by slicing 6 shiitakes into a small dice. Next, place a pan onto a high heat and add a touch of olive oil. Add the shiitakes and fry until crispy golden brown. Finish the crumb by adding 30g of panko breadcrumbs and 2 finely sliced spring onions. Continue to fry until the panko becomes golden then remove from the heat and add 2-3 tbsps of grated parmasan and season with a toch of salt and some freshly cracked black pepper. Set the crumb to one side along with the puree.
Soy Eggs:
7. The final component to prepare before we begin to cook is the soy eggs. Simply in a small bowl add 40mls of mirin and 60mls of light soy. Mix well then seperate the egg yolks from the white and add the yolks to the soy. Leave the egg yolks to cure for 30-45 minutes or longer if your after a much more candy like egg yolk.
Time To Cook:
8. To begin cooking place 1 saucepan onto a medium heat and another small pot 3/4 full of water onto a high heat for the noodles. In the sauce pan add 50g of salted butter and begin to melt the butter. When melted add 2 tbsps of white miso then mix well to combine the miso and butter. De glaze the pan approximately 100mls of water then begin to reduce the liquid until emulsified. When nice and educed we can now add the edamame puree and mix well to encorporate the puree. Continue to reduce until a creamy reduced sauce is formed.
Whilst the sauce is reducing we can go ahead and add the noodles to the boiling water. As these are fresh they do not take long to cook at all. Cook for 45 seconds then drain from the water. Add the noodles to the sauce and continue to reduce until the noodles are completely coated in the sauce. When ready turn off the heat and finish with some grated parmasan to taste and a squeze of fresh lemon. Adjust the seasoning if needed then were ready to serve.
To serve divide the noodles onto serving plates then top with the shiitake crumb. Finish with the soy egg, a fresh grating of parmesan a touch of olive oil and nourish…Hope you like this recipe, have fun and peace as always!
Ingredients
To serve 3-4
Prep Time: 2 hrs
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Rest Time for Noodles 12-24 hrs
Alkaline Noodles:
- 195ml spinach water
- 500g all purpose flour
- 5g salt
- 5g lye water (kansui)
- 100g spinach (spinach water)
- cornflour for dusting
Miso Pesto Sauce:
- 100g edamame beans
- 2 tbsp white miso
- 2 garlic cloves
- 5g ginger
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 3 spring onions
- 100mls Spinach water
- 50g salted butter
- parmasan to taste
- lemonjuice
Shiitake crumb:
- 6 shiitake mushrooms
- 30g panko breadcrumbs
- 2-3 tbsp grated parmasan
- 2 spring onions
- salt/pepper
Soy Egg Yolks:
- 3-4 egg yolks
- 40mls mirin
- 60mls light soy
