Spicy Miso Soba Noodle Soup With Ginger Teriyaki Tofu

For the ginger teriyaki tofu, wrap the tofu in plenty of paper towels and compress under a heavy kitchen utensil for 30 minutes to remove excess water.

Dice the tofu into cubes. In a medium frying pan/ skillet, heat the vegetable oil over a medium heat and fry the tofu until browned on all sides. Add the ginger and stir in. Add the soy sauce and mirin and fry for 2 minutes until the tofu becomes caramelized. Set aside.

For the noodle soup, put the vegetable oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and spring onions/scallions and fry for 1 minute to infuse some flavour into the oil.

Add the dashi and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the dried soba (buckwheat) noodles in a separate pan of boiling water following the packet instructions. Drain well and divide between serving bowls.

Combine the red miso and gochujang in a cup and stir in a ladleful of the dashi until dissolved. Add the miso mixture back into the saucepan with the soup and stir well to combine. Heat through for another minute, if needed, before serving.

Pour the hot miso soup over the cooked soba (buckwheat) noodles in the serving bowls, then top with the ginger teriyaki tofu, wakame, sesame seeds, dried chilli/ chile strips and spring onion/ scallion, if liked.

To make the dashi, place the water, kombu and shiitake mushrooms in a large saucepan and leave them to soak for at least 30 minutes. to the boil over a medium-high heat. Just before it reaches boiling point – when small bubbles appear at the bottom of the pan – remove the kombu. Do not let the kombu boil; if you do the flavour will be spoilt. Continue heating to bring the water and mushrooms to the boil.

Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Skim any scum off the surface of the dashi as it cooks.

Turn the heat off and strain the dashi through a muslin/ cheesecloth or paper towel-lined fine-mesh sieve/strainer. The dashi is now ready to use. It will keep in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

Tip: I wouldn’t recommend freezing any dashi, it is easy to make and the flavours would not survive.