Pork and Soba Noodle Soup

Name: Pork and Soba Noodle Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 2 Tbs. canola or peanut oil; 2 boneless pork loin chops, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices; 1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger; 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1/4 yellow onion, finely chopped; 1 Tbs. soy sauce; 6 cups chicken broth; 1/2 lb. dried soba noodles; 4 button mushrooms, thinly sliced; 4 green onions, white and light green portions, thinly sliced; Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

To peel and grate fresh ginger, first remove the skin with a vegetable peeler. Then grate the peeled ginger on a fine rasp grater or the finest rasps of a box grater-shredder.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

2 Tbs. canola or peanut oil
2 boneless pork loin chops, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 Tbs. soy sauce
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 lb. dried soba noodles
4 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 green onions, white and light green portions, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Sauté the pork
In a small fry pan over medium heat, warm the oil. When it is hot, add the pork and sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, yellow onion and soy sauce and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat.

Cook the soba noodles
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the broth to a boil. Add the soba noodles and stir to separate them. Cook just until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the pork mixture, mushrooms and green onions and cook for 1 minute to heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Soup, by Georgeanne Brennan (Oxmoor House, 2006).