Name: Udon with steamed eggplant and smoked mackerel
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 30 gm instant dashi; 60 ml shoyu, plus extra to serve (see note) (¼ cup); 15 gm ginger (3cm piece), cut into julienne; 1½ spring onions, thinly sliced; ¾ tsp sesame oil, plus extra to serve; 3 small Japanese eggplant, thickly sliced; 375 gm butternut pumpkin, cut into cubes; 1 tbsp white miso paste; 1½ smoked mackerel fillets (about 170gm); 270 gm dried udon noodles; To serve: shiso leaves (see note)

Udon with steamed eggplant and smoked mackerel

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Udon with steamed eggplant and smoked mackerel

Ingredients

30 gm instant dashi

60 ml shoyu, plus extra to serve (see note) (¼ cup)

15 gm ginger (3cm piece), cut into julienne

1½ spring onions, thinly sliced

¾ tsp sesame oil, plus extra to serve

3 small Japanese eggplant, thickly sliced

375 gm butternut pumpkin, cut into cubes

1 tbsp white miso paste

1½ smoked mackerel fillets (about 170gm)

270 gm dried udon noodles

To serve: shiso leaves (see note)

Method

Main

1.Bring dashi and 750ml water to the boil in a saucepan over high heat, add shoyu, ginger, onion and sesame oil, season to taste, set aside and keep warm.

2.Brush eggplant and pumpkin with miso and steam, covered, in a steamer over a saucepan of boiling water until tender (10-15 minutes), adding mackerel to steamer for the last 2 minutes of cooking to warm through.

3.Meanwhile, cook udon in a large saucepan of boiling water until just tender (5-10 minutes), drain and divide among bowls. Top with steamed vegetables and flakes of mackerel. Ladle broth over, scatter with shiso and a few drops of sesame oil to taste, and serve with extra shoyu for seasoning.