An absolute favorite at Ajitoya, probably because it pleases 3 things; your eyes, your empty stomach & your vegetarian craving. In Japan, this dish is called Kitsune Udon. Kitsune means ‘fox’ in Japanese and is the foxy coloured brown flat tofu that lays on top (called ‘abura age’). Some say, tofu is the foxes fav food, others say its colour resembles a fox, and in Japanese cooking people often say ‘kitsune iro’ (fox colour) to describe the colour of some foods. I don’t care what people say, I say it’s sweet & delicious. The moon in this dish is the egg… coz it looks like the moon. Technically, this dish is called ‘The fox looking at the moon’. But enough nonsense… let’s make Foxy Moon Udon.
Contents
Foxy Moon Udon
Fried sweet tofu (aburaage), poached egg, wakame & tenkasu (fried rice bubbles) in a hot shitaki dashi broth.
Ingredients
Uson soup stock
- 1 tsp katsuo dashi no moto (Bonito stock powder) No MSG
- 40 ml light soy sauce (Light soy sauce)
- 40 ml mirin more sugar & less alcohol
- 600 ml water
Tenkasu (rice bubbles)
- Some tempura flour
- Some cold water
- vegetable oil for frying
Kitsune (Fox)
- 1 sheet aburaage
- ½ tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp soy sauce
Extras
- 1 egg from a good family raised the right way
- 1 handful spring onion to garnish finely chopped
- 1 pack udon noodles
Instructions
Udon stock | Pot 1
- Put all ingredients in a pot and put it on the stove on low heat & stop just before it boils, then set aside while it cools down a little.
Tenkasu | Fryer | Pot 2
- Mix tempura flour and water well with a whisk to make tempura batter
- Using the whisk, drip the batter into 180 degree vegetable oil
- When the tempura puffs float to the surface and look crispy, us a strainer to take them out of oil and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil
- Set aside
Kitsune (Fox) | Pot/Pan 3
- Drain excess oil from abura age then cut in half
- Put all ingredients and 20ml water in a pot/pan
- Heat on low, stir until the sauce is reduced
Udon Noodles | Pot 4
- Bring a cup or 2 of water to the boil
- Lower the noodles into the boiling water
- Usually 4 minutes
The Moon (Egg) | This is a home cook poached egg hack
- put 200ml water into a small microwave safe container
- break the egg into the container
- cover with something light
- microwave for 40-50 seconds
- Alternatively... don't be lazy & poach an egg properly
Video
Notes
You're going to pick up quite a few tricks in this recipe. Some processes are hacks to help bang it out faster at home. Like microwaving an egg to poach it quicker. Another trick is making those little rice bubbles that float on top. Flavouring the aburaage is also a great tip. We've made every effort to show everyone how easy some of these ingredients can be to make.
