Creamy Miso Udon Soup
Be sure to plate this dish in a deep bowl so you can drink as much broth as possible.
It’s not often I am so moved by food I had at Disney World that I decide to recreate it at home.
My family and I recently made the trip to Epcot for the 2023 Flower and Garden Festival. This means the grounds of the amusement park are decked out in meticulously maintained topiaries and ornamental gardens. It is one of my favorite festivals at the park just behind the Food and Wine Festival in the fall. If you have the chance to visit Disney World, do not miss the opportunity to go to Epcot.
On the backside of Epcot, there are a series of internationally themed exhibits known as The World Showcase. From Mexico to Norway, there are eleven (11) nations represented at Epcot. Each has unique offerings from their countries of origin at fine and fast casual eateries. During festival season, Epcot adds more outlets to provide small bites and beverages to guests. Usually, these food stalls follow a theme that is relevant to the larger festival like ‘The Honey Beestro’ dedicated to serving all things bee and honey related. We tried to hit as many of them as possible.
We stumbled upon the Hanami booth at the Japan exhibit. They were serving a warm, creamy udon soup with spring vegetables and shrimp. This was the top dish of my entire day so I decided to recreate a version at home but elevating it to include soubise onions and white miso. You could easily substitute the shrimp with thin slices of chicken or avoid the animal protein all together, the fresh spring vegetables are sufficient enough.
Serves 4
Ingredients for the Onion Soubise
Two tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled
4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
Ingredients for the Udon Soup
14 oz fresh or frozen udon*
1 zucchini, cleaned and sliced into quarters
2 carrots, cleaned and peeled
1 leek, white to light green parts only, cleaned and sliced into half moons
4 oz Cremini mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
8 oz frozen peas
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon tapioca flour or cornstarch
1 tablespoon Shiro miso
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon MSG (optional)
Kosher salt to taste
Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish
*I highly recommend staying away from fully dried udon. These dried packages never produce the fat, succulent udon noodles you need for this dish.
Special Equipment
Spider
Directions for the Onion Soubise
Over medium heat, warm up one tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil in a Dutch oven or Made In’s Five Quart Saucier. Sweat the onions and garlic for two minutes. Be sure to avoid generating any color. Then, add one cup of low sodium chicken broth and continue to cook for another five minutes. This will create the base of an onion soubise or onion sauce that will be added back to the creamy miso soup base. Transfer the onion soubise to a blender. Spin it for a minute to create a smooth sauce.
Directions for the Udon Soup
Bring a medium sauce pot of water to a rolling boil. Salt the water so that it tastes like the ocean. Drop in your fresh or frozen udon noodles and cook for two minutes. Transfer to a bowl using the spider and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
Return the onion soubise back to the Dutch oven or Saucier, then add in the remaining chicken broth. Bring this mixture to a simmer over medium heat before adding your leeks, carrots, and mushrooms to cook for three minutes with the cover on. Next, add in your zucchini, peas, shrimp, heavy cream, and tapioca starch to finish cooking for another two minutes. Finally, add in the Shiro miso, butter, sherry, and remaining seasonings to the soup base with the heat off. At this point, the soup should be creamy and coat the back of a spoon due to the extra starch.
Place your cooked udon noodles into four bowls and top each with a couple ladles of soup. Top with thinly sliced scallions and enjoy!