Honey Miso Walnuts and Shrimp Soba Crostini
This recipe is a combination of my mother’s fried soba and my grandmother’s honey miso walnuts.
Ingredients
- 2 Green onions plus more for garnish (green parts only)
- 2 tablespoons White miso paste
- 2 tablespoons Mirin
- 2 teaspoons Honey
- 1/4 teaspoon Togarashi or 1/2 tablespoon Crushed red pepper (you may adjust the amount based on your preferred spiciness)
- 12 pieces Medium raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail removed
- 1 cup Water plus more for cook soba noodles
- 1/2 cup Roasted chopped walnuts
- 3 oz. Soba noodles
- 1/2 cup Vegetable oil
Instructions
- 1. Chop green onions. In a bowl, mix together miso, mirin, honey and togarashi (or crushed red pepper).
- 2. Boil 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Put shrimp into the saucepan, cover with a lid and cook shrimp over medium heat until cooked through. Drain in a colander then cut each shrimp into half. Then add to the bowl of the miso mixture with green onions and walnuts. Set aside.
- 3. Cook soba noodles according to the package directions. Drain in another colander, rinse under cold running water and drain in the colander again.
- 4. Divide the soba into eight. Wind up each soba with a folk, twist the fork around and around in circles to form a bundle like when you eat spaghetti, then place on a large plate.
- 5. Work in 2 batches. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When the oil gets hot, put four portions of soba into the hot oil gently. With a spatula or back of a large spoon, flatten the top shaping a flat round. Fry them until golden brown and crisp. Flip and fry the other sides until golden brown and crisp. Put them on a paper towels lined plate to drain. Repeat this with remaining 4 portions of soba.
- 6. Put the fried soba on serving plates. With a slotted spoon, put the miso walnuts and shrimp mixture on each soba. Drizzle the liquid remaining in the bowl over the top. Thin cut green onion for garnish if you like. Serve immediately.
Notes
In my country, Japan, we eat “Toshikoshi Soba” (traditional Japanese New Year’s Eve dish of soba in a hot broth, symbolizing longevity, bringing good luck in the coming year, and cutting of past year’s hardships). My family eats this dish as well every year. The next day, my mother used to make fried soba with the leftover soba noodles as a snack. And she served them with honey miso walnuts as a dipping sauce. She learned how to make the honey miso walnuts from her mother. I was looking forward to this snack much more than Toshikoshi soba every year. I learned both from my mother. When I married and moved to America, I made this dish, adding in my own twists. I add shrimp to the sauce for more umami and put it on the fried soba as if they were like crostini, which is easier to eat. This dish has tons of umami and textures like crispy, crunchy, and creamy, which is so much fun to eat. Although I live in America now, being Japanese, I respect and follow Japanese traditions. This is the most important and favorite tradition because I was taught by my very special women, my mother and my grandmother. On New Year’s Eve, I cook Toshikoshi soba, but I cook lots of soba noodles on purpose to make this dish. Then I enjoy this dish with my husband every year, which has been our tradition since we got married.