Quick and easy seven-spice udon noodle soup recipe

Though you'll need to visit your favorite Asian market to gather up a few ingredients for this soup, I promise it's worth any distance you have to travel. Udon are thick, chewy wheat noodles, popular in Japanese cuisine but originally from China. In the Asian grocery, look for small packages of udon in the fresh noodle section (refrigerated case). Japanese seven-spice powder (shichimi togarashi) serves not just as decoration; it's an integral part of the flavor of the soup, adding a peppery zing that plays off the garlic in the broth. The fresh noodles cook right in the broth, in just three minutes. Dry noodles will take a few minutes longer to cook. Use a rich mushroom broth to make this vegan.

Quick and easy seven-spice udon noodle soup

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Serves 2; can be doubled or tripled.

Ingredients

2 cups beef broth (I use Swanson lower-sodium)
1/2 tsp soy sauce (optional; if your broth is very salty, don't add this)
1 7-oz package of fresh udon
3-4 snow peas, trimmed and sliced
1 large clove garlic, thinly slivered
2 large mushrooms (shiitake, cremini, or white), stems removed, sliced
2 tsp thinly sliced scallions
1 tsp Japanese seven-spice powder

Directions

Add the broth, soy sauce, udon, snow peas, garlic and mushrooms to a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring gently from time to time to separate the noodles.

Remove from heat and ladle into individual bowls, topping each with scallions and seven-spice powder. Be sure to stir in the seven-spice powder so the flavor permeates the broth.

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