Black Truffle Miso Mushroom Udon with Onsen Tamago and Tempura Bacon

Ingredients

• ***Ingredients for Onsen Tamago (Hot Springs Eggs):
• 1 litre boiling water
• 200 ml refrigerated cold water
• 3 x 70g eggs in shells (refrigerated)
• ***Ingredients for Kombu Shiitake Dashi (this makes more than you need for this recipe, but it keeps well in the fridge for other recipes):
• 500 ml simmering water
• 1 small strip dried kombu (kelp), approx 10g
• 4-5 dried whole shiitake mushrooms
• 1½ tbsp Obento Mirin
• ½ tbsp Lee Kum Kee Salt-reduced Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• ***Ingredients for Tempura Bacon:
• 3 half-rashers thick cut bacon, halved horizontally
• 100g Obento Tempura Batter Mix (plus extra, for dusting)
• 170g chilled soda water
• Vegetable oil, for deep frying
• ***Ingredients for Black Truffle Miso Mushroom Udon Noodles:
• Boiling water, for cooking udon noodles
• 1 packet Hakubaku udon noodles
• 400g Exotic Mushroom Stirfry mix (enoki, king brown)
• Shiitake mushrooms from Dashi, sliced
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp white miso paste
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 60ml Shiitake Kombu Dashi (see below for recipe)
• 1 tsp black truffle salsa
• 1 cup udon cooking water (approx)
• ¼ cup finely grated Grana Padano (less salty than parmesan)
• Pepper
• To garnish: Shichimi togarashi and Spring onion curls

Method

1. ***First make Onsen Tamago (These can be made a few hours ahead of time, refrigerated in shells and peeled just before serving):
2. Place boiling water in heavy-bottomed saucepan over heat. Cover, bring back to boil.
3. Remove from heat, add cold water and gently submerge eggs completely in water. Stir gently, cover and sit for 17 minutes.
4. Remove and let sit in shells 3-5 minutes before peeling.
5. While eggs are sitting in hot water, make Kombu Shiitake Dashi and Tempura Bacon:
6. ***To make Kombu Shiitake Dashi:
7. Wipe kombu with damp paper towel.Combine water and kombu kelp in to a saucepan over medium heat until almost boiling. Remove the kombu.Add the shiitake mushrooms and bring to boil. Lower heat, simmer gently for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in mirin, soy sauce, ginger.
8. Strain the broth through a fine strainer to remove solids, reserve mushrooms and slice. Set aside Dashi.
9. ***To make Tempura Bacon:
10. While Dashi is simmering, combine batter mix and soda water in bowl, mix well.
11. Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan until chopstick end sizzles gently when inserted into oil.
12. While oil is heating, pan fry bacon until fat is rendered and bacon is cooked but still soft (2-3 mins each side). Drain bacon on paper towel. Reserve bacon fat in frypan for frying mushrooms.
13. Dust bacon strips with extra Obento Tempura Batter Mix, then dunk in the batter till well coated. Fry in the heated oil until coating is lightly golden (2-3 minutes). Remove and drain on paper towel.
14. ***To make Mushroom Udon Noodles:
15. While oil for Tempura Bacon is heating, carefully pour boiling water into saucepan, keep simmering until needed.
16. In a small bowl, mix together miso paste, black truffle salsa and dashi. Set aside.
17. Bring udon water to boil. Add udon, cook 10 minutes.
18. While udon is cooking, add butter to frypan with rendered bacon fat,heat until just foam in, add sliced King Brown mushrooms. Fry without stirring for 2-3 mins until turning golden brown, then toss, stir, fry further 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic, stir 30 seconds. Add miso mix, stir 1 minute. Add 1 cup udon water, Grana Padano, enoki and sliced shiitake mushrooms, stir until combined.
19. Once udon is cooked, add noodles (not the water) straight into mushroom mix, stirring to combine. Add a little more udon water if it looks dry.Add salt and pepper to taste.
20. Serve with Onsen egg on top, tempura bacon on side,spring onion curls and Shichimi togarashi.

Product used in recipe

• Hakubaku - Hakubaku Organic Udon
• Lee Kum Kee - Salt Reduced Soy Sauce
• Obento - Mirin Seasoning
• Obento - Tempura Batter Mix