How can I make Japanese soba soup for hot or cold noodles only using ingredients available in UK?

Where I live I can't get hold of dashi, mirin, ready made soba soup. All I can get is miso, dry soba noodles and wasabi, what could I make a tasty Japanese-ish broth from?

Thanks!How can I make Japanese soba soup for hot or cold noodles only using ingredients available in UK?
Oriental Soba Noodle Soup with Roast Pork and Bok Choy



1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce

a 3/4-pound piece well trimmed boneless pork loin

8 cups chicken broth

six 1/8-inch slices peeled fresh gingerroot

3 star anise

2 large garlic cloves

1/2 pound dried soba noodles

1/2 pound bok choy (about 1/2 small head)



Preheat oven to 350掳 F.

In a small bowl stir together hoisin, sugar, five-spice powder, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. In a small glass baking dish brush pork with hoisin mixture and roast in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in center registers 160掳 F. Let pork stand on a cutting board 15 minutes. Cut pork crosswise into thin slices and halve slices diagonally.

In a large saucepan skim any fat from surface of broth and bring broth to a boil with gingerroot, star anise, garlic, and remaining tablespoon soy sauce. Remove pan from heat and steep broth, covered, 30 minutes. Pour broth through a sieve into another large saucepan.

While broth is steeping, in a 5-quart kettle bring 3 1/2 quarts salted water to a boil and add noodles. When water returns to boil add 1 cup cold water and bring to boil again. Repeat procedure and simmer noodles 5 minutes, or until just tender. In a colander drain noodles and rinse under cold water. Drain noodles well and divide among 4 large soup bowls.

Bring broth to a boil. Cut bok choy crosswise into 1/8-inch slices and add to broth. Simmer mixture 2 minutes, or until bok choy is crisp-tender. Divide pork, bok choy, and broth among bowls.

You can also add soy sauce to add more flavor to it.



8 c Chicken stock 2 L

2 Pieces fresh ginger root;

-- bruised 2

1/4 c Rice wine; (mirin) or sake

-- 50

-- mL

1/4 c Soy sauce 50 mL

1 lb Soba noodles; (or udon or

-- spaghetti) 500 g

1 lb Boneless; skinless chicken

-- breasts, cut into

-- 1"/2.5 cm chunks

-- 500 g

10 oz Spinach; (approx.), trimmed

-- and chopped 300 g

1 c Frozen peas 250 mL

2 Carrots; grated 2

8 Green onions; roughly

-- chopped 8

Place stock, ginger, rice wine (mirin) and soy sauce in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in boiling water until almost tender. Rinse with cold water. Drain well.

Add chicken to stock mixture. Cook a few minutes.

Add spinach, peas, carrots, green onions and noodles. Heat thoroughly.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Well you can send for the ingredients you are missing by ordering on line.



http://www.asianfoodgrocer.com



or you can make a fish broth using heads, tails and bones. Strain and use that with miso. You can get seaweed in the UK I am sure.How can I make Japanese soba soup for hot or cold noodles only using ingredients available in UK?
Can you get konbu, shoyu and sake? (I would think you could get these products, even in UK). If you can, mix shoyu, sugar (preferably brown), sake, and a small amount of miso (depending on if it's red or white miso and whether or not it's the kind that comes with dashi or katsuo in it already) and make a pretty good soup for soba. If you need to substitute mirin in a recipe, you can always add sugar to sake and 1. cook it a little to dissolve the sugar or 2. mix the two together really well and let it stand for a few days. If the miso is white, I would use more of it than if it is red, but I like the stronger flavor of akamiso. If the miso already has dashi in it, it will taste better. Mix all of it together, strain to make the broth clear, take out the konbu, and it should taste pretty good.



Can you get any kind of dried fish flakes or dried shrimp? The soup for soba noodles really does need the subtle flavor of fish in it--I prefer katsuo, but ebi flakes should be okay too. Even if you can't get the regular katsuo bushi, if you can get some kind of dried fish flakes, it will make the soup better. If you cannot get dried fish at all, try boiling down fish heads and tails, boiling it all down to a strong broth, and using a bit of that. Mix together shoyu, konbu, sake, sugar, small amt. of miso, and either dried fish or some of the reduced, strong fish broth. Cook it to simmering, and let it simmer a short while. Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to make it clear. Being from the Kyoto area, my family prefers a bit of miso in lots of foods that people from the Kanto area don't like miso in--it's all up to individual and regional tastes.



Gambatte kudasai!
Clearspring at www.clearspring.co.uk

This comes from a cook on TV in the UK, go to site and you will see her version of Soba soup, and where to get the ingredients.