Seafood Udon Soup

I love simmering a stew on a cold winter night. For this satisfying fish stew, you may have to make a trip to an Oriental grocery store. Some of these items may be a little hard to find. Joe makes his own fish soup stock from leftover vegetables, dried fish flakes, crab shells, and 2 sheets kombu (thick dried seaweed), but you could substitute chicken, fish, or vegetable bouillon if you're short on time.

Ingredients

2 dried Chinese wood ear mushrooms
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 cup crab or crab substitute, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 ounces salmon, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 ounces halibut or other white fish, cut into 1-inch cubes
16 large shrimp, peeled and tails removed
1/2 teaspoon black ground pepper
2 ounces sake
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 can baby corns, drained
1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced diagonally
4 cups chopped bok choy
16 ounces Udon or stir-fry noodles
1 cup concentrated miso broth
8 cups fish broth
1 tablespoon Chinese chili-garlic paste, to taste
2 tablespoons sliced green onions

Instructions

Put mushrooms into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak for 30 min. Drain water and slice into matchstick pieces.

Heat sesame oil in frying pan. Saute fish and shellfish for three minutes. Add pepper, sake, and lemon juice.
Add vegetables and stir for one minute. Cook Udon noodles according to package directions; drain. If you can't find udon noodles, you can use wide spaghetti or linguine noodles instead.

Combine fish broth and miso concentrate; heat the liquid but do not bring to a boil, as this will cause the miso to break down and become grainy. Place cooked udon noodles in bottom of each soup bowl. Arrange cooked seafood and vegetables over udon noodles and fill the bowl with broth.

Serves 6-8.