By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, June 23, 1999

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Manila clams and portabello mushrooms in a sweet soy
and and miso sauce, will be tossed with udon noodles.

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Hearty udon
dons new guises

Udon is the big, fat, juicy earthworm of the noodle family (vermicelli would be the millipede).

Chewy and substantial, a bowl of udon is a meal that will hold you, provided you can get past that worm imagery.

At Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Executive Chef Liam Martin has developed an udon dish that's not so much a soup as it is a pasta dish, Japanese-style. It's dotted with clams and portabello mushrooms, flavored with a sweet, miso-soy sauce.

Ruby Fujita asked for the recipe after her husband ordered it at the restaurant.

Martin uses small, sweet Manila clams, except for the few weeks in the year when they're unavailable and he has to switch to New Zealand clams. And if you'd really like to get it exact, he recommends Kikkoman soy sauce.

It's a flexible dish. Martin said it would work with hot peppers added; I tried it with a little spinach. Also, it was originally made with shiitakes, but he's now using portabellos to conform with other dishes on the menu. If you prefer shiitakes, go for it.

Martin said the dish has been on the menu about six months and is popular, although some people think the shoyu taste is too strong. I made it with half the soy and it was lighter and less salty, with the character of the dish preserved. The portion is hearty. Martin said it would serve two as an appetizer, but there really are enough noodles for two or three meals.

As for an accompanying beer -- the dish was born in a brewery, after all -- Martin suggested the house Marzen.

Also included here is a comforting beef udon dish flavored with cinnamon, which cookbook author Nina Simonds suggests for those times you feel a cold coming on.

Udon with Clams
and Mushrooms

1 7-ounce package udon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1 dozen Manila clams, about 1 pound
1 large portabello mushroom cap, sliced
1/8 cup green onions, chopped
Japanese seven spice, optional, for garnish
Sweet Soy:
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon white miso
1 tablespoon sugar

To make sauce: Combine all ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Drop udon into boiling water and allow to simmer while assembling the rest of the dish.

Over high heat, saute garlic and ginger in oil, then add Sweet Soy and bring to a boil. Add clams and mushrooms. Cover and allow clams to steam open and sauce to reduce slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in green onions.

Drain udon and add to clam mixture, stirring to coat the noodles, about 1 minute. Remove to a dish and garnish the rim with seven spice, if desired.

Serves 2 as an appetizer.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 810 calories, 12 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 130 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,300 mg sodium.*

Cinnamon Beef Noodles

"Asian Noodles," by Nina Simonds, Hearst Books, 1997

1 teaspoon safflower or corn oil
8-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 pounds chuck or beef stew meat, trimmed and cut in 1-1/2 inch cubes
10 ounces spinach, trimmed, rinsed and drained
1/2 pound udon, cooked and drained
3 tablespoons minced green onion
Seasonings
6 green onions in 1-1/2 inch sections, smashed lightly with the flat side of a knife
6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and thinly sliced
4 quarter-sized slices ginger, smashed
1-1/2 teaspoons hot chile paste
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon aniseed

Heat oil in a large pot about 30 seconds. Add seasonings and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add water and soy and bring to a boil. Add beef and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, 1-1/2 hours, until meat is tender. Skim foam and scum off surface. Discard ginger slices and cinnamon sticks. Add spinach and bring to a boil.

Divide noodles among six bowls and top with beef mixture. Sprinkle with green onions. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 510 calories, 29 g total fat, 12 g saturated fat, 100 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,400 mg sodium.*

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.