RECIPE: MISO MUSHROOM SOBA-NARA

For those of us who occasionally have to hunt down a particular Japanese ingredient, said task just got a whole lot easier with both staple and specialty items available at The Essential Ingredient (with stores in South Melbourne and Prahran). Gone are the days where I would search high and low through the limited selection at a supermarket or make the trek out to a specialty Japanese grocer; The Essential Ingredient Prahran is just down the road from the office! I recently received a preview of the quality ingredients on offer, which included commonly used items such as miso paste, furikake seasoning and wasabi powder (unlike the stuff you squeeze out of a tube, this is legit HOT) through to those less commonly encountered (abalone sea sauce and candied yuzu to name a few).

With the weather particularly cold as of late and consequently ramping up cravings for warmth in the form of food, I decided to use some of these ingredients to create a umami meets hearty comfort dish: a miso carbonara-style sauce with mushroom and soba noodles. Soba-nara, geddit? I opted for soba noodles as these are a favourite pantry staple of mine, which I often use to whip up super speedy meals. HOWEVER, I would suggest using a thicker noodle option like udon or spaghetti for a better sauce-to-noodle ratio, and this is something I will definitely take on board when revisiting this recipe in future. The umami presence in this dish soared with the smoked soy sauce and sweet red miso paste in the egg-based sauce, which paired beautifully with the earthiness from the mushrooms. The kicker? A generous pinch of aromatic furikake seasoning and shichimi togarashi spice. Oishii. Bellissimo. Delicious.

MISO MUSHROOM SOBA-NARA

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 eggs (or 2 eggs and 1 extra yolk if you prefer a thicker sauce)

  • 1 tablespoon sweet red miso paste

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons smoked soy sauce

  • 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (and extra to serve)

  • 300-400 g mushrooms, sliced

  • 270 g packet soba noodles (prepared according to package instructions)

  • pan fried prosciutto shards to serve

  • nori komi furikake rice seasoning to serve

  • shichimi togarashi spice to serve

  • optional: poached or soft boiled egg to serve

METHODS

  1. In a bowl, whisk together the 3 eggs (or 2 eggs+extra yolk) before stirring through the miso paste, smoked soy sauce and parmesan cheese. Set aside.

  2. Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of canola oil or butter before adding the mushrooms and cook until tender and golden brown.

  3. Add the cooked soba noodles and stir through the mushrooms. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool for a minute.

  4. Working quickly, stir through the miso egg mixture.

  5. Serve immediately, topped with extra parmesan cheese, prosciutto shards, furikake seasoning, shichimi togarashi spice and a poached/soft boiled egg if desired for extra oozy goodness. Enjoy!

Disclosure: I received these products courtesy of The Essential Ingredients.

CookMaggie Lamfood, food photography, photography, recipe, homecooking, cooking, cook, Japanese food, Melbourne food blog, Melbourne food blogger, Melbourne blog, Melbourne blogger, food blog, food blogger, food styling, Japanese cooking, noodles, soba noodles, carbonara