Bok choy is popular in this house, especially with Kona and Reese the labrachoy retrievers. They perk up when they see me rinsing it, and leaving any in paw’s reach is a sure way to turn my Fido into a gobbler. They like to call it bark choy.
This is the kind of soup that can be whipped up with almost no planning. Frozen salmon thaws quickly if you just got home from work and forgot to plan dinner. So if you come home to a cold night and you’ve got that brothy soup feeling welling up in your taste buds give this one a go.
Prep Time 15 min
Cook Time 1 hour (at least)
INGREDIENTS
- 12 cups chicken stock
- 1 onion
- 1 shallot
- 2” piece of ginger, peeled
- 1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
- 2 tbsp miso paste
- 2 salmon filets
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup sake
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 pack udon noodles
- 4 baby bok choy, cleaned and root trimmed off
- 4 green onions, cut into 2” sticks
RECIPE
Set oven to broil. While oven heats, pour broth into a stock pot and heat on high, bringing to a boil. Once you get it boiling reduce it to a simmer.
While the broth is warming, peel the onion and shallot, place on a baking sheet and put in the oven’s middle rack until they brown a bit. Once browned, add to the simmering broth. Let ‘er simmer while you prepare the marinade for the salmon.
In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, sake, mirin, honey, and sesame oil and pour over the salmon in a Zip Lock bag. Marinate the salmon at least 30 min.
Bake the salmon in the oven or in a frying pan until just done and it easily flakes.
After the broth has simmered for 45 minutes or so, mix miso with some of the hot broth then return the mixture to the broth. Continue to simmer the broth for another 15 minutes.
Add the udon noodles to the broth and heat until just about done. Depending on the noodles you’re using that may be almost instantaneous.
Add bok choy and green onions to the broth and as soon as the bok choy begins to wilt make the bowls served with the salmon.
