Vegan Kitsune Soba

Try this simple vegan kitsune soba to satisfy your cravings for Japanese food. It includes a hot, flavorful broth with buckwheat noodles, topped with a lightly sweetened fried tofu.

Course Dinner, Soup

Cuisine Asian, Japanese

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 390

Author Jhanelle Golding

Ingredients

8 ounce soba noodles
2 pieces kombu about 4 inches each or 15g
6 shiitake mushrooms fresh or dried
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 large carrot sliced
4 cloves garlic minced
4 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
8 aburaage

Additional but optional Soup Toppings:

Enoki mushrooms
Wakame (seaweed)
Ginger paste
Ground Japanese chili pepper blend (Shichimi togarashi)
Scallions
Ground toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

To make vegan dashi/stock:

In a large pot, add 4 cups of water, kombu, mushrooms, gluten-free soy sauce, mirin, sliced carrot and minced garlic. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium heat for 20 minutes.
2 pieces kombu, 6 shiitake mushrooms, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon mirin, 1 large carrot, 4 cloves garlic, 4 cups water

To cook the soba noodles:

Bring a separate pot of water to boil.
Stir in the soba noodles and reduce to medium heat. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
8 ounce soba noodles
Drain and rinse soba under cool running water. Set aside.

To serve:

Add buckwheat noodles to a bowl, spoon in the hot broth, then top with 2 pieces of aburaage or deep-fried tofu. You can also add other desired toppings at this point.
Salt and pepper to taste, Enoki mushrooms, Wakame, Ginger paste, Ground Japanese chili pepper blend, Scallions, Ground toasted sesame seeds, 8 aburaage

Notes

Avoid rinsing the kombu before using. Kombu is often covered with a white coating. These are the natural compounds which give the dashi the rich umami flavours.
To extract the most flavour from kombu, soaking it overnight in cold water is the traditional method used. This ensures a slow and full release of the flavour compounds in kombu, which gives the dashi that rich umami flavour.
The stock with kombu and mushrooms is then brought to a boil for 20 minutes to thicken the soup slightly and extract flavours from the mushrooms.
More vegan Japanese recipes: Vegan Nabe Hot Pot Soup, Vegan Rice Burger with Kinpira, Vegan Tofu Teriyaki Stir-fry, Vegan Gyozas/Potstickers.

Nutrition