Udon with Chicken and Kimchi in Spicy Miso Broth

It's important for home cooks to have a few dishes up their sleeve that can be thrown together in ten minutes. They don't have to be our best work, nor do they have to be the healthiest meals in our repetoire. They simply have to be better than ordering a pizza (or getting take out) when you're hungry and pressed for time. I trot this recipe out when the hour gets late, we've not managed to eat supper and going out is not in the cards. It also makes a satisfying lunch. Substituite tofu for the chicken and you could feed it to a vegan without compromising much in the way of flavor.

This recipe is salty enough for me, but some may prefer a higher sodium level. Going heavier on the miso would provide that, while adding texture to the broth.

Exotic ingredients you'll need:

Kimchi - Korean spicy pickled cabbage, sold in jars in Asian markets. Keeps for over a month in the fridge. Tasty as a side dish or appetizer, but not for everyone. Good ingredient for Korean stews and fried rice, if you can manage to keep from snacking on it. When cooked it loses its aggressiveness, adding rich flavor and a hint of spice to a dish.

Miso - Health food nuts and fans of Japanese cuisine probably have this in their fridge already. I recommend white or red miso; both make delicious soup. Keeps for months in the fridge. Also pops up in Korean cooking, and makes a decent substitute for Chinese fermented soybean paste.

Toasted Sesame Oil - You don't need it for this dish, but it adds one more layer of flavor. And you may as well pick it up when you get the miso, since a few drops go well in miso soup. This seasoning is added at the last minute in very small amounts.

Udon Noodles - Fresh or frozen, these are useful to have around. This will be the third recipe I've given for them on this blog, and you can easily find many more. Sometimes nothing is better than a bowl of noodles, and you'll probably find these where you find the other ingredients on this list.

This recipe makes two large bowls of soup:

meat from a chicken leg and thigh, cut into bite sized pieces
4-5 cups water
3 scallions, cut into rounds
generous 3/4 cup kimchi
generous tbs miso
tsp sugar
1/4 -1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch salt
oil for frying
few drops sesame oil
1/2 lb cooked udon noodles, rinsed

Heat water in pot with kinchi. Stir in miso once it's hot. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. In a small pan fry chicken with salt, sugar and cayenne pepper. When meat is cooked add scallions and remove from heat. Divide the noodles between two bowls, and top with a few drops sesame oil. Ladle hot miso-kinchi broth over noodles, then top with chicken-scallion mixture.